Forbidden Love
by Tara-hime
Summary: Chapter 15 added! The truth about Ailah is revealed!
1. Prologue

~Prologue~  
  
  
I feel…  
Yearning…  
Wanting…  
Needing…  
Longing…  
  
I feel loneliness.  
It makes me feel like fire.  
Burning with dark desires.  
  
It's strange when one starts to have these feelings. It consumes your being and clouds your every thought, but to act on these feelings… the consequences I know that they will have. Everything will change. But why do I want it too? Need it too?  
It all started that day when the heat wave was at it's highest. I never saw him the same way ever since. He was no longer my little boy who grew up in this house, so innocent and dependant on me. He was slowly becoming a man and starting to resemble someone I used to know long ago. I think he senses this as well for he no longer sees me as the one who raised him, he sees me the way a man sees a woman. I'm glad that he does. For maybe now I can quench my longing and not be so alone anymore.   
Perhaps I can finally be with the one I love.   
  
  
  
Author's Note: I had the urge to write a fic about Val and Fil that dealt with the whole incest issue. I don't have a problem with the matter because  
a. They're not blood relatives  
b. Age is really nothing but a number if you're a dragon.  
I hope this doesn't offend anyone to much but I love this couple and I just can't see that this is the only thing standing in their way. Flames are welcomed and compliments are even more welcomed.   
This will be a lemon scene in later chapters but I will leave that as an optional chapter for those who'd rather not read that sort of thing. ^_^; 


	2. Late night visitors

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers or it's characters I just like to write fanfics about them.   
K here is the next chapter everyone!   
  
  
  
~Chapter 1~  
  
  
  
Twelve o' clock. Why was it that she could find peace at so late an hour? Maybe it was the quiet. There were no customers in the shop, and the others were sound asleep. He was asleep. Why did her thoughts always go back to him? How could she feel this way about one who was like her son? Sure he was not her real flesh and blood but still…   
She would never understand. But a dark presence soon disturbed her silent reverie. A familiar air she knew all too well. She didn't even need to guess.  
"You're above me aren't you?" She said as she stared blankly in the darkness waiting for the answer that she knew was coming. "Sore wa himitsu desu."  
"Please leave me be, Xelloss." She did not need him and his mockery now.  
"But why Filia-san? You look so sad and alone." The trickster priest slowly materialized in front of her with that cursed mask of his on. If he must bother me why does he have to have that awful grin on? But he was right she was sad and alone, lately it seemed she always was. He walked towards her stopping right in front of her face to where their noses barely touched. It was very uncomfortable.  
"Do I really make you so edgy?" He brought his hand up to move a few wisps of her hair from her face. "Perhaps I can make you feel more at ease ne?" Why must he be so close? So dangerously close.  
She turned her head away so as not to look at him. "Please stop Xelloss, I don't want this right now."  
Xellos really didn't like what he was hearing. "What you mean to say is you don't want me. Am I right?"  
"No. Yes. I mean I … I really could go for some tea, how about you?" She tried to get up from her chair to make some tea but Xellos stopped her from moving an inch away from him.  
"Now, now Filia you know I don't want tea. But from the look on your face I can see that you do not want the same thing I do. Tell me this then is there someone who you do want?" This time his mask wasn't on, instead he looked at her with those cold amethyst eyes of his. Filia felt as if he could reach into her to touch her soul with those eyes, but she couldn't and wouldn't tell him whom she really longed for. She refused to give him a weakness of hers for him to abuse.  
"I don't know what you are talking about, there's no one." The fidgeting she was doing gave her away though. Why was it always so hard to lie to him?  
"I think you do Filia-san, and I know who but why don't you tell me anyway. Just to confirm it." His eyes. They were so hypnotic, as if making her remember the day everything changed…  
  
-Flashback Past Summer-  
  
The heat was awful. It was one of the hottest summers Filia had ever known. Not only was the temperature sky-high but also there was a horrible drought going on making the heat even more unbearable. The radio said that this was the hottest day yet. Filia couldn't take wearing her heavy clothes, it made her feel dirty and very sweaty. So she opted to wear just a simple slip dress which, when compared to her normal attire was a bit more than revealing. She didn't even bother to open the shop today for there would be no customers coming in this heat and gave Jillas and Garvos the day off. She was by herself save for Val who was in the kitchen making them some ice tea. Filia was surprised they even had ice in this heat.  
Shortly after Val came into the living room with a pitcher of tea and two glasses. Since he couldn't stand the heat as well, Val decided to wear just a pair of shorts without a shirt. As he poured them each a glass Filia fanned herself with a small paper fan sometimes fanning Val to give him a little relief. He smirked at her and took a little bit of the tea onto his fingers and flicked them at her challenging her to do something about it.  
Giggling, Filia jumped from her chair with her glass and started to chase Val around the living room. When she finally caught him she dumped the drink onto his head.  
"Thanks that was very refreshing." Val said between his laughter. For a little revenge he grabbed her by the waist and started to tickle her without mercy. They ended up rolling around on the floor trying to tickle one another but gave up with Val on top of her. While both were recovering from their fun, a few droplets of tea from Val's hair dripped onto Filia's face. As Val gazed at her, he slowly wiped away the tea from her face very lovingly. Filia wrapped her arms around his shoulders giving his damp hair a gentle tousle. She grinned at his messed up hair but then her face lost all color. Val looked at her with concern not knowing that he was what was making Filia uncomfortable. Filia was shocked because of the sudden bulge she felt coming from between Val's legs. Quickly Filia shot up from the floor and ran upstairs into her room leaving a confused and hurt Val behind.  
  
-The Present-  
  
Things weren't the same since that day. Filia kept her distance from Val even though she knew she was hurting him by pushing him away, but how could she face him now? How can she explain to him the feelings that were going through her? She couldn't even explain them to herself.  
A part of her wanted to forget that day ever happened and go on with their lives. The other part of her longed for him to touch her again and everything that happened, even his arousal, felt right. But how could she do something like that with the boy she raised to be her son. True she never had him call her mother but it was still not right. Wasn't it?  
And now here was Xelloss feeding off her emotions like they were a rare delicacy.   
"I still don't know what you are talking about Xelloss, why don't you tell me who you think it is?"  
"Better yet why don't I show you?"   
Filia looked questioningly at Xelloss but was surprised to see his face slowly fade away morphing into…  
Valgarv!  
Xelloss had transformed himself into a replica of Valgarv. Every detail Filia remembered about Valgarv was there, right down to the scars on his body her people made long ago. Filia was beside herself, it was Valgarv but it wasn't. She tried to speak but her voice was caught in her throat.  
"Speechless ne?" His voice was Valgarv's too. How can this be?  
"I can be anyone you want Filia. I can take shape of anyone you have ever desired. Even those who you cannot have, but so desperately want." He was talking in a seductive whisper that sent shivers up Filia's back. She wanted to say yes, she wanted him, but he wasn't really Valgarv. It was the eyes. They weren't how Valgarv's eyes looked. No matter how much he could change his shape his eyes would always give Xelloss away. When Valgarv looked at her she saw nothing but pain; not the dark evil she would see in Xelloss' eyes. The evil she saw now. Filia felt as if her heart would break into a thousand pieces. She could never do such a thing with Xelloss even if he were disguised as Valgarv. The real Valgarv was beyond Filia's reach, but she knew she would keep a hand outstretched for him till they could finally be together in the way she dreamed them to be. Unfortunately Xelloss was having difficulty taking no for an answer. He would have Filia for his own one way or another and was not about to let her feelings for that damned dragon whelp, stand in his way. Xelloss decided that words were meaningless when actions were so much louder, as he slowly started to massage her right thigh.  
"Please stop Xelloss!" Why must he be so cruel? Despite her newfound resolve Filia was having a hard time remembering that this wasn't Valgarv and that she shouldn't be enjoying these touches.  
"No not Xelloss, tonight I'm Valgarv. I'm yours to do with as you please." He moved his fingers slightly upwards to caress the outline of Filia's breast.  
"I'm telling you to stop, that I will hate you for it." Filia willed her eyes shut so as not to see his eyes anymore. The teasing he was doing was driving her mad and if she looked at his eyes anymore she knew she would give in to him.  
"You've always hated me remember? So why not just let me please you." He brought his mouth to her neck slowly suckling on it and while she was distracted unbuttoned her dress.  
When she felt gloved fingers on her bare flesh, reality came crashing down upon Filia. Valgarv never wore gloves, Xelloss did! Bolting out of her chair knocking Xelloss/Valgarv over she screamed. "I don't want this! I don't want you! Get out! Get out of my house and never show your face here again you filthy mazoku!"  
Xelloss now back to his usual form sneered at her. "You could have had what you've wanted for a long time Filia. You could have been with Valgarv whom you desire so much. And don't think I don't know you do."  
"You can say all you want Xelloss but you'll never be the Valgarv that I love. I'll never sleep with someone I do not love. And I do not love you."  
"Well I really don't give a damn if you love me or not. Perhaps I should just take what I want from you and leave you here all alone save for the shame of a dragon being ravished by a 'filthy mazoku'. How does that sound Filia?" Xelloss slowly crept towards her with a look of pure hunger in his eyes as he grinned evilly at the sight of Filia cowering away from him in fear. Filia didn't know what she could do to stop him, he was so much powerful then her. If he wanted to he could have killed her anytime he wished, but she couldn't let him do such a horrible thing to her, she had to do something. Xelloss was towering over her now glaring down at her. As he was about to grab her by her hair someone let out a fierce growl from the dark. Turning in surprise Xelloss was knocked over from being punched very hard on the side of his face. Moaning in pain Xelloss looked up to face his attacker.   
"I won't let you touch her." It was Val! Filia had never been so glad to see him as she was now. Xelloss stood up spitting some blood from his mouth. Recovered from his shock he put his evil grin back on.  
"So does the little dragon whelp want a fight? Are you trying to protect her honor Val?"  
"No just her." They were standing face to face and it reminded Filia of the times when Xelloss and Valgarv fought each other how intense they always were.  
If Xelloss was intimidated by Val's confidence he didn't show it. He simply let out a "humph" and turned away from Val. He then bent down and gave Filia a kiss on her cheek before phasing out.  
Although Filia was relieved that Xelloss was gone she couldn't help but cry the kiss had been the worst part of the entire encounter between them. It felt as if his lips were burning into her cheek, scarring her with his spite for her refusing him. She gasped as she felt warm arms wrap themselves around her and for a moment thought Xelloss had come back but looked up into the eyes of Val. "Shh it's ok he's gone. Did he hurt you? I swear if he did I'll hunt him down and kill him with my own hands."   
"No I'm alright. As far as I can tell I am." Val tightened his hold on her as if he were afraid to let go of her. As much as she cherished being in his arms, feeling safe Filia frowned. Why can't I stop these feelings? My heart feels as if it will beat out of my chest. Trying to get her mind elsewhere she asked, "How did you know I was in trouble?"  
"I had trouble sleeping, like I knew something wasn't right. I checked on Jillas and Gravos and they were ok but when I got to your room you weren't there so I decided to check downstairs when I heard you and Xellos talking. I was about to go back upstairs when I heard him saying those horrible things to you. I just couldn't let him do that to you."  
"Thank you Val!"  
"Oh you don't have to thank me Filia, I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. I don't think I could ever forgive myself." He drew her closer into his embrace with her head resting on his chest and softly smoothed her hair.  
Why is this happening? How can I feel this way about Val? Filia decided not to dwell on the matter anymore and welcomed the comfort he was trying to give her. Awhile later she fell asleep in Val's arms.  
  
  
To be continued...  
  
  
Author's Note: Well I hope you liked this chapter as much as I liked writing it. Sorry to any Xelloss fans if they didn't like how I portrayed him, I always like him as an antagonist. Please review if you liked it or even if you didn't it helps me out a lot, and to those who already reviewed thank you so much. ^_^ And if you're reading this Mika-chan I hope you write your fic soon because I would love to read it. 


	3. The following morning

~Chapter 2~  
  
  
  
Filia woke up from her peaceful sleep as the sun shone down on her from her bedroom window. How did she get in her bedroom? She didn't remember going to her room last night. Then the reality of last night dawned on her and what Xelloss tried to do to her. 'But Val stopped him.' she thought. She smiled at the memory of Val protecting her and later comforting her. She turned over and when she did she saw Val asleep in a chair at a corner of her room. Filia giggled out loud at the site of Val dozing. He must have brought me up here when I fell asleep in his arms. Filia wanted to be in his arms again but didn't know if she should act on her feelings. She had accepted the fact she saw more in Val than her son but she didn't know what he felt about her. Would he ever see her as more than his mother? Last summer was a little proof he did, but she kept telling herself that it was just Val going through puberty, or something of that nature. He never had a father figure to talk to about that sort of thing, and Filia would always avoid the subject due to her conflicting emotions towards him. Now that she thought of it, she never let Val do anything. He never had friends that he could talk to, save for Jillas and Gravos but it wasn't the same as going out and meeting new people. Filia didn't want Val to leave for fear of the mazoku race trying to revert him back to evil, which had been her greatest fear thus far. Filia glanced down at the covers and frowned, was it her fear of the mazoku or just the thought of Val leaving her?  
Her train of thought was broken as Val started to wake up. Stretching, to ease his aching muscles from his uncomfortable position, Val rose and greeted Filia with a warm smile. "Good morning, did you sleep well?"  
"More so than you it seems." Filia said with a grin.  
"Well I didn't want you to be by yourself in case Xelloss came back. Sore muscles are alright with me as long as you're safe." Val said as he sat down next to her.  
This caused a faint blush to tinge Filia's cheeks. "Val…"  
"Well it's true! If something did happen to you, who would cook around here?"   
This caused Val to be plummeted with a pillow. He decided it be best to surrender and raised his arms up, "Ok you win!"  
"You're so funny" Filia said sarcastically. She would never understand why Val would constantly tease her, but she didn't mind the attention. 'He acts so unlike Valgarv but looks more like him everyday' Filia said to herself. She gave him a sweet smile but Val's expression turned very serious.  
"Filia, is it alright if I ask you a question?" he said in a monotone voice.  
Puzzled Filia replied, "Of course you can Val!"  
"Are you sure? Because it is um… kinda personal."  
This confused Filia even more but she gave a small nod because she was curious as to what Val wanted to know.  
"K here goes… who is Valgarv?"  
All Filia could do was let out a choked gasp.  
Why did the gods have to do this to her? She never thought she would have to tell him about his tragic past. She never wanted to either because it hurt to think about the way he was; every time she did she realized how much she loved him.  
She came back to reality with a frantic Val shaking her, "Filia are you alright?"  
"Huh? What?"  
"You're eyes seemed to glaze over and when I asked you what's wrong you acted as if you didn't hear me."  
"I'm sorry Val, I think I might be still a little shaken from last night." Filia felt bad about lying to him but it was the only excuse she could think of.  
"Oh ok, well maybe I should just let you go back to sleep. We can talk later."  
"Sure Val we'll talk later." Filia bundled herself back under the covers and pretended to fall back asleep. With a small smile on his lips Val stood up and went out the door. Filia let out a sigh of relief but it was short lived for all she could think of was…  
'Now what am I going to do?'   
  
To Be Continued…  
  
Gomen I know this was a short chapter but I've had a bad case of writer's block lately. Don't worry it didn't last very long ^_~  
And to all my loyal fans thank you so much for liking my work. You guys keep me going. I know some of you want me to e-mail you but since I don't have your e-mail addresses, I can't. But if you like please feel free to e-mail me at psychomouse604@aol.com and I will gladly respond. I love talking to new people especially if they are V/F fans. Hope to hear from you soon! 


	4. Strange occurences

~Chapter 3~  
  
  
  
'Val's POV'  
  
  
He'd never understand women. They were just too damn confusing, Filia especially. He knew that what happened had shook her up a bit but was that a reason to avoid answering questions he desperately needed to know? He had so many and he felt that she was the only one that could give him his answers. Even Jillas and Gravos wouldn't answer him and they were his best friends. And what was going on with Xellos? Val didn't want to think what would have happened if he didn't come to save her in time.  
Ohh so many mysteries…  
Then there was another question that prodded at the back of his mind. Why was he so angry with Xellos? Yes he was outraged by his actions, he would be even if it weren't Filia, but when he saw him kiss Filia a wave of jealousy washed over him. Every time he saw Filia's sweet face, or the way she would flip her hair, Val would get a different feeling that was quite nice. He wanted to continue having this feeling; he wanted to have Filia.  
'Where did that come from?' Val hung his head between his hands.  
'How can I feel this way about her, she's practically my mother. But why does my heart pound at the thought of her being more than just a mother.' Val began to blush from remembering the incident over last summer. 'That was so embarrassing, not to mention Filia ran off like I had some kind of disease or something. I couldn't help it she was so alluring then, with her sundress on and the way she looked with the tea from my hair on her face. Why did she have to runaway?'  
Val was extremely hurt by Filia running off and felt even worse when it seemed she avoided him.  
Filia was always there for him when he needed her, only this time he needed badly and she wasn't there at all.  
Val began to wonder when he started to feel this way about Filia, was he always like this or was it just now he started too? He remembered when he was still a child that he always thought of Filia as a princess. She was a golden princess of light that deserved to be loved and cherished. He would daydream of him and his princess together; he would do anything to make her happy. It was almost like a schoolboy having a crush on his teacher. But this feeling was more than just an ordinary crush it was something much deeper.  
Val couldn't think straight anymore and thought that it'd be best to take a walk outside to clear his head. He usually didn't enjoy walks by himself but this was one of those times he needed to think things out without any disturbances. 'I never really knew how peaceful the forest could be.' Val thought to himself as he walked along the leaf-strewn path of the forest just on the outskirts of the town he lived in. So beautiful was the forest that he forgot the reason why he was out there in the first place. It seemed a waste to dwell on negativity with such beauty before him. 'I really should bring Filia with me sometime; it would be very special to share this with her. Not to mention romantic.' Val silently scolded himself with that thought in his head. 'I came here to not think of Filia anymore, but still a picnic in one of the clearings just the two of us...' Val didn't realize it, but he was so wrapped up in thinking of Filia and romance, that he became lost. When he finally noticed unfamiliar surroundings he did his best to not panic.  
'Now what am I going to do? No one knows where I am, I don't even know myself.' After walking around in circles for a bit, Val became very frustrated and plopped himself down on the ground with a heavy sigh. 'It's not so bad, I mean someone is bound to see I'm gone, so I might as well stay right where I am.' So Val just lay there on the soft earth and after a couple of minutes dozed off.  
  
  
~A few hours later~  
  
  
An icy breeze forced Val to unwillingly come out of his nap. After blinking his eyes open a couple of times, he had to let his vision adjust to the sudden darkness of the forest. 'It can't be that long after dusk, I guess no one is going to find me in the dark so might as well try to find my way back.' Val stood hugging his arms around himself as another cold breeze hit him. Winter was coming much sooner than expected, and it wasn't a good idea to be out in the woods without shelter or food. Val was just about to start his way back when he saw a glowing figure in the corner of his eye. Thinking that it might be a bandit or worst, Val hid behind a bush well concealing him from sight. Watching from his hiding place Val saw the figure again only this time it lasted longer and was in the shape of some sort. It seemed to be the form of a girl running through the woods. 'Why would a girl be running in the forest at night let alone the fact she is glowing?' Val was confused by this and as if a moth attracted to a flame, wanted a better look. He figured that she might be in trouble and thought he could help her not afraid of the fact she was glowing, so Val went after her. He followed her for quite a bit hiding behind trees now and then, when it seemed she sensed his presence. Not one time though could he see her face, she would keep it hidden from view. After awhile Val saw that he wasn't far from the edge of the forest that led into town, but the girl he was following seemed to disappear. Giving up his search he made a turn towards town when he came face to face with a pair of glittering eyes as green as fresh young leaves.  
Val was speechless; she was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. She stood no higher than his shoulder with a slim petite figure, which was showed off by a short pale orange peasant dress. Her face was framed by petal pink hair that curled past her ears. (Sort of like Fuu from MKR) It was a perfect contrast to her dazzling eyes that Val could not seem to look away from. 'Could she be the girl I was following?' Val wondered. Realizing he was staring Val decided to introduce himself.  
"Hello my name is Val, I don't believe we ever met."  
The girl just continued to look at him not saying a word. Val became real uncomfortable from the lack of conversation and wondered if he said something to make her just stare at him like that.  
"Ahh what might your name be Miss?" Val hoped that she would at least answer that, but the girl just simply stood there. So Val thought that maybe she was just playing with him and turned to leave but she grabbed his arm in protest. Val looked back towards her and noticed that the look on her face was almost telling him not to go.   
"Um do you need help with something?" She shook her head no but still kept a firm grip on him.  
"Well can you at least tell me who you are? If not then I really need to get going, my family is probably worried that I didn't come home yet."  
The girl looked as if she was contemplating something and slowly let go of Val's arm. Val was becoming more confused by the minute from the girl's actions and watched her curiously as she patted her throat. Val then realized she was signaling that she couldn't speak.  
"Oh I'm so sorry I didn't realize, I feel so dumb." Val hung his head down but the girl lifted his chin so he would look at her. Val saw in her eyes that it was all right and was comforted by the green orbs.  
"Gee I wish I knew your name at least."   
The girl cocked her head to the side and smiled while reaching around to lift a delicate chain from around her neck. Handing it over to Val he gazed at it seeing the intricate woven designs and when turned over it had a word engraved.  
"Ailah. Is that your name?"  
She shook her head very enthusiastically and Val grinned happily now having a name with her face.   
"Well it is very nice to meet you Ailah." Ailah gave Val a sweet smile to let him know she felt the same way.  
Soon the two new friends started to make their way home.  
Little did they know high above them in the shadows of the trees, a dark figure watched them. Showing off a fanged smile the figure let out an evil chuckle.  
"The plan is in motion!"  
  
  
  
To be continued…  
  
  
A/N - I didn't die! I'm still here just to let you know, gomen for having this chapter out so late, but I've been busy with end of semester stuff. I should be able to work more on it when winter break starts. Who is this Ailah? And who is the dark figure? When will the next chapter be out? All these questions will be answered and more in later chapters. In the meantime please give your feedback to let me know what you think! And a special shout-out to Lady Shinjitsu for making me post this chapter sooner than later! ^_^ 


	5. Unexpected dinner guest

~Chapter 4~  
  
  
  
  
'What in L-sama's name is she doing? Does she not have a place to go to?'  
Much to Val's surprise Ailah was still walking with him, even when he offered to bring her home first before he went to his. She just simply shook her head no and continued to walk beside Val. Val wasn't one to argue so he just let her be not thinking there might be more to it.  
'What a peculiar girl!' Val glanced to the girl next to him, who seemed to be in awe with everything around her. The lights from windows and streetlamps seemed to fascinate her as if she had never seen them before. It amused Val how curious she was with them. It was nice to just walk with someone and not have to feel anxious, that was how he always was with Filia, but with Ailah it was different. It was weird because he had just met her and yet he felt as if he had known her all his life. Shortly after they finally arrived to Val's home meeting a panicked Filia at the door. Not noticing Ailah, Filia ran up and hugged him nearly crushing him with her dragon strength. Ok not nearly she really was crushing him.  
"Val where have you been this whole time? I woke up from my nap to find you gone and not a word as to where! What if something might have happened to you? You could have been injured or worse and I would not have known. Are you even listening to me?"  
If Val could answer he would have but he was still in Filia's bear hug of death. Filia let go of Val so she could hear what he had to say but with a stern look on her face. She really was pissed.   
" I just went for a walk and I got lost." Val gasped out sucking in the much-needed oxygen. But Filia seemed suspicious especially when she finally took notice of Ailah. Filia scowled at the young girl and turned to Val, "Right! You were lost! And just who might this be? She doesn't look like a fork in the road!  
Val was shocked by Filia's rudeness, but figured that it was just from her worrying about him.   
"Filia this is Ailah, I met her while I was in the woods."  
Filia walked right past Val towards Ailah until they were toe to toe. The ex-dragon priestess looked the girl up and down as if she was inspecting her trying to find one minor flaw or imperfection. All the while Ailah just stood watching Filia with a smile on her face. That smile was really starting to bother Filia.  
"So Ailah is it? Where are you from and what in Ceipheed's name were you doing out in the forest so late and all by yourself?"  
Ailah just continued to look at Filia and when she still didn't answer it took everything Filia had not to smack her with her well-hidden mace under her dress. Val noticed Filia's irritation and quickly stepped in between the two girls before the next Kouma war broke out.  
"Filia, Ailah can't speak!" he whispered in Filia's ear. Filia had a look of surprise on her face and looked from Val to Ailah and back to Val again. With this new knowledge Filia felt really guilty for being harsh. She didn't even have a reason to be so rude.  
Regaining what little dignity she had left, Filia apologized for being small minded and asked if Ailah wanted to stay for dinner. Only L-sama knows why she did that! But Ailah gave the same warm smile she always wore to show she accepted the offer. Then the two girls walked inside the cottage with Val tailing behind them utterly confused by the sudden hospitality of Filia.  
As Val sat down at the table waiting for dinner, he couldn't help but think of Ailah and Filia's questions. Where exactly was she from? Who were her parents? Did she have any family at all? Also Val mentally asked himself what was up with Filia. She had never in his life seen her like that unless it was with good reason like a mean customer or something. 'Only Ailah didn't do anything at all! Filia was rude the moment she saw Ailah.'  
Dinner went along smoothly that night. Jillas and Gravos were on their best behavior in front of Ailah, who as Val noticed, had impeccable table manners. Even Filia seemed to have gotten over whatever it was when he brought Ailah home. It was kind of eerie how calm everyone was, dinner had never been this quiet before even with guests over. Val grinned at the memory of the last people that came over for dinner…  
  
-Flashback Last Month-  
  
  
"Miss Lina please that was all the food we had left!"  
Val stood off to the side while he watched Filia try to calm down the aforementioned sorceress who was about to fireball his home. Apparently she and her travel companion Gourry came at a bad time for dinner. I say that it was a bad time because Filia had yet to do the grocery shopping and all that was left in the kitchen were some carrots and a wheel of cheese. Well that was what they had before Lina made her presence known so to speak. She didn't let Gourry have even a tiny crumb of food and by the look on his face he needed something to eat and fast. His face resembled that of a skeleton.  
"I can't believe this! How can you let a great sorcery genius like myself go hungry? It's wrong I tell you, wrong! I thought we were friends Filia!" Lina still had her self-absorbed way of thinking and it was really making Filia angry. For a moment Val thought he saw her have a tail! (that's right folks he doesn't know she's a dragon! ^_^)  
"Miss Lina if I had known that you and Mr. Gourry were going to drop by I would have prepared something more to what you are accustomed to just because of our friendship. But since you came unannounced you shouldn't complain about your empty stomach!" Filia said through clenched teeth.  
Gathering what strength he had left Gourry sat up and said "But she needs to eat Filia, I mean how else will her little breasts develop?"  
If you were to stand at the bottom of the valley on the other side of town you would be able to hear a shrill "Fireball!" and see a trail of smoke emerging from the earth heading towards the sky.  
  
  
-End Flashback-  
  
Val was thankful that this dinner wasn't going to be anything like that. It was awhile before they had the house the way it was, before Lina fireballed it. It was nice to have company over, not to mention Jillas and Gravos using table manners for once!  
  
A/N- There you have it the latest installment of Forbidden Love! If you have any questions or comments then feel free to e-mail me or AIM me @ Psychomouse604! I want to thank all the wonderful people who have been there giving me all the wonderful reviews and feedback, it means so much to know my work is appreciated! Gomen that I can't thank everyone personally but I will in time. ^_^ Also for the 50th person to review my fic I will give them a prize of their choice. Either a teaser of an upcoming chapter or I will answer any question that they may have even if it is a spoiler. I have never seen this done before and I hope this will start a trend of some sorts. So please r/r!!!!! 


	6. Accidents can happen

~Chapter 5~  
  
  
Shortly after dinner, Filia went about to washing the dishes, but was stunned to find she had a helper. Ailah stood next to her drying the dishes that Filia laid aside after she had washed them. Watching her carefully, Filia noticed that she dried the dishes to a perfect sheen that one could see their reflection in them. Filia was thankful for the help, since she never had anyone help her with the dishes, but she couldn't help but be curious about the strange mute girl.  
"Why hasn't she gone home yet and not to mention when will she?" Filia muttered to herself as she continued her cleaning.  
After putting the dishes away Filia turned around to see Ailah standing right behind her. Filia wasn't expecting her right there and was startled making her lose her balance. With a yelp Filia stumbled backwards into the dish cabinet, hitting her head on one of the shelves, while dozens of plates and bowls fell on top of her cutting in various places.  
Filia's head spun from hitting it and everything became fuzzy. It didn't help that she was losing blood and before she blacked out, the last thing she saw was Ailah standing above her with the cheerful smile she always wore.  
  
  
~Sometime Later~  
  
  
Filia slowly opened her eyes, an enormous headache causing her to wake up. She tried to sit up but was forced back down by the pain that swarm through her body. Very carefully she lifted up one of her arms seeing that it was bandaged from her wrist all the way up to the elbow. Turning her gaze over she saw that the other one wasn't as bad but still had a bandage around her upper arm. Using her better arm she felt around her head gently and noticed that it as well was bandaged. If she could see her face she would have seen that it was covered in bruises and some minor cuts.  
Flashes of what happened ghosted across her memory, but Filia didn't dwell on it too much because it made her head hurt even worse. Sinking back against her goose-down pillow, she let out a long sigh as her head slowly stopped throbbing.  
Deciding it would be best for her to get more rest Filia closed her eyes but only to open them again as she heard someone enter her room. Glancing up wearily she saw Val bring in a tray with some soup and a plate of crackers. After setting the tray down on a nightstand, Val sat next to Filia on the bed gazing down on her with a worried expression.  
"How are you feeling?" he inquired.  
With a forced grin Filia said, "My entire body hurts!"  
Val had to force back a chuckle but said, "I should think it would, you fell against the dish cabinet."  
Filia nodded a little. "I seem to recall but who would have thought a mere dish cabinet could take down a gol… er "girl" like myself."  
Val gave her a perplexed look but then gave a snicker and said, "You must have been hit on the head pretty hard, if you can't even say the word girl right."  
"I suppose so." Filia gave a mental sigh of relief and scolded herself for almost slipping out the truth about her. Val didn't know that she was a golden dragon and he was unaware of his dragon heritage as well. She thought it better not to tell him because he might remember "other" things about himself and she couldn't do that to him. The pain and grief he once felt would come crashing down upon him in one fell swoop. And somewhere in the back of her mind a voice reminded her that she felt more for his past self than she should. They were both supposed to be bitter enemies and yet there was a deep understanding between them. Filia wondered when it was that she fell in love with the half-dragon, half-mazoku rogue. Was it when she first saw him? The time when he and Almayce attacked the temple? Or was it the time… when she first saw him smile?  
That final smile, before she helped Lina and the others destroy him and Dark Star. That was the only time she ever recalled seeing him smile. And it was that smile alone that made her heart ache; wishing things could have been different for them. There were so many regrets she felt when she saw Valgarv's smile.  
Filia wanted to keep Val smiling all the time, so that fueled her to keep their pasts from him. It was simple enough, with her white magick she was able to restrain him from transforming into his dragon form. She had to admit he was an adorable dragon when he first hatched but it solved so many issues to not let him transform anymore after he advanced to using his human form.  
"So do you think you can eat a little something?" Val said breaking Filia's train of thought.  
She gave a small nod, but when she tried to eat the soup herself, Val stopped her. "Sorry Filia but your arms were cut very bad, I don't think it would be a good idea to try to use them just yet."  
"But then how am I supposed to eat?" Filia said with a confused look on her face.  
Val couldn't contain his laughter anymore and let it all out from looking at her face. Filia was getting annoyed and when Val saw that look he knew he was trespassing on dangerous territory. With a cough he said, "That's what I'm here for silly," and when she still didn't catch on he added, "I'm going to feed you the soup."  
All Filia did was let out a small "Oh!" with a bright blush on her cheeks. She tried to sit up but it took too much of her strength so Val grabbed her around the waist pulling her up gently and causing the blush on Filia's cheeks to get even redder. After she was situated Val scooped some soup onto the spoon and began to feed her.  
With a serious tone to show he wasn't joking Val said, "Maybe I should check your temperature. Your cheeks are really red!"  
Filia felt really embarrassed now that he saw her blushing and it only intensified. Trying to calm herself, she told him "Oh I'm sure it's nothing, I mean I don't feel like I have a fever or anything." Not believing her Val placed his hand on her forehead to make sure and placed his other hand on his forehead to see if they were the same temperature. Satisfied that they were, Val continued to feed Filia the soup.  
Filia felt so content and at peace just having Val near her. He was so close she thought that if she were just to move her face an inch more, their lips would meet. But before she could another figure walked into the room, and Filia was shocked to see who it was.  
"Ailah!" Val turned around and gave Ailah a small smile. Facing Filia now he told her that he sensed that Ailah felt bad for what happened, thinking it was her fault, and wanted to help around the house. Since it seemed Filia wouldn't be able to do the housework Val offered her to stay until Filia recuperated. Seeing that it was all arranged before Filia could have her say, she agreed to let her stay.  
'But I'll be watching you, Ailah!' Filia said to herself.  
  
A/N Gomen for taking forever yet again with this latest chapter. Let's just say things have been hectic in my life. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed this latest installment and please r/r!! Remember for the 50th person they will have their choice of either a teaser of an upcoming chapter or I will answer any question they may have even if it is a spoiler. If you are the 50th person please e-mail me at psychomouse604@aol.com. ^_^ 


	7. You're gonna get burned

~Chapter 6~  
  
  
Filia was beside herself. For the life of her, she could not figure out why she agreed to let that girl stay here. All she remembered was melting at Val's face with his innocent puppy-dog look when he explained how Ailah felt responsible for the accident.   
"Well of course she felt responsible because she was!" Filia thought to herself with a big frown on her face. Alas, she could never say no to Val especially when he looked at her like that. It made her feel warm inside when he was happy, so how could she deny him what he wanted?  
But something tugged at the back of Filia's mind, the thought of Val and Ailah growing closer to one another. That thought made her feel sick to her stomach. She had to make sure that Ailah and Val don't become any closer than they already were.   
"But how can I if I'm bedridden and unable to see their every move?" Filia thought with a depressed look on her face.  
  
~Elsewhere~  
  
Val was humming to himself as he brought out a freshly baked vase from the kiln. Setting it aside for it to cool he went to one of the cabinets to bring out the ceramic paints but abruptly stopped. He about near forgotten that it was Filia who always painted the vases as it was his job to bake them. But with Filia's condition how could she paint? She could barely raise her arms.  
Val felt ashamed that he just forgot Filia's condition so easily. That wasn't like him at all. He felt even worse that here he was humming of all things acting as if nothing happened. That everything was perfectly fine. But it wasn't; Filia was hurt very badly and who knew when she was going to get better.  
"Maybe I should do something for her to cheer her up," Val thought, "but what?" He searched his brain thinking of the things that made Filia happy.  
"Let's see there's collecting antique vases and maces, drinking tea, making rock people, and that thing with the string, what was it called? Oh yeah cat's cradle." Val numbered off all of Filia's favorite things mentally but was lost as to what type of gift he could give her. "I could probably buy her some fine imported tea from Seyruune. Or buy her a new mace." Val sighed knowing that he didn't have any spare money to purchase her a gift. He racked his brain for a few moments trying to think of an idea for a gift.  
It struck him that Filia would love to have something hand-made rather than have him go out and buy a gift. "Now all I have to figure out is what she would like that I could easily make." While Val pondered his new situation he didn't notice the silent footsteps coming from behind him. In an instant, dainty hands covered Val's eyes. Playing along, Val chuckled, "Gee Gravos I never knew you had such girly hands." Taking her hands off of him Ailah gave him a small punch in the arm. Val was happy to see that his hunch on just who his visitor was, was correct. "Hey maybe she could help me think of something to make for Filia!" Val thought to himself.  
"Say Ailah, you're a girl, what exactly would a girl like as a present that I could make?" Val asked, hoping she could help him somehow.  
Ailah looked as if she were thinking real hard about it and then suddenly her eyes lit up. Reaching behind her neck, she pulled out the necklace with her name on it and showed it to Val.   
Catching on, Val quickly agreed, "Yea a necklace is a perfect present that I could make for her!" Val was ecstatic now that he knew what he was going to make for Filia's present. He remembered that there were some gemstones leftover from a special order they had on a vase and knew he could easily drill a tiny hole in them to fit a piece of string. Pumping with enthusiasm, Val started out his task by searching the shop for the gems. Val was giddy in a way, because he was acting like a lovesick schoolboy who was making a gift for his crush. "Well technically…" Val brushed that thought out of his mind although he had a bright red blush on his cheeks. Finally after what seemed forever Val found the gemstones secluded way back in a drawer. Sitting at the kitchen table he went right to work. Ailah stood off a little ways beside him watching intently as he fished out all the colored gems that he knew would look great on Filia. After he fished out all the jade and rose quartz stones, he attempted to drill a hole in one but there wasn't much light so he couldn't see very well. He fished out a candle and some matches so he could see better and after he lit one the room was instantly bright with light. Ailah wasn't curious with Val and the necklace anymore but with the tiny flame on the candle. She never saw anything so beautiful before. It gave off a golden glow and it seemed to dance against the slight breeze in the room from the open windows. She wanted so badly to touch it and Val didn't notice her hand going closer to it. As her hand neared the candle it felt suddenly warmer and warmer the closer she got to it. When she finally touched it she instantly brought her hand back, clutching it to her chest to stop the sharp searing pain that flowed through her hand. Val, frantic, was instantly by her side.  
"Ailah are you ok? Let me see your hand. Why in the world did you touch it?" Val was dumbfounded. She acted as if she had never seen fire before in her life. Now that Val thought about it, Ailah was awed by any kind of light she saw. He remembered how she gazed at the streetlights on their way home, like she wanted to reach out and touch them. He wondered how she could never have seen fire before or any kind of light for that matter?  
As he looked at her hand he noticed something peculiar. The area where she burned herself was a bright red but when he touched it, it turned into a shimmering blue and then faded away. For a moment Val thought he was seeing things.  
Brushing it aside he asked Ailah if she was ok and left it at that when she shook her head. Glad that she was ok, Val finished making Filia's necklace and put it into a little box and tied a ribbon on it. He decided not to dwell on what just happened but couldn't help but think of when he first met Ailah and thought she was the glowing girl he saw in the woods.  
  
To be continued…  
  
A/N: Gomen for taking so long to get this chapter up. Not much action in this one but I gave a hint (sorta) to Ailah's secret. I just recently had to write a long essay for my English 102 class so that's why I took so long. I had to make sure that it was perfect because it is one of the essays that go with my proficiency exam and they determine whether I make it to my next class. I really take my schoolwork too seriously sometimes lol. I promise it won't be as long for the next chapter. Anyway I just made a new layout for Destined Dragons and updated it with new stuff for you to look at. I'm taking a survey right now on what is the best V/F scene in Try and I need some feedback on that. If you want you can put it in your review or e-mail me at . I can't wait to hear what you think and I will post your answers on DD's next update. Till then Ja minna!!! 


	8. Crushed flower petals

~Chapter 7~  
  
"Oh Gods it hurts!" Filia moaned to herself. It was a few days later after her accident and she was still bedridden. Not only did she hurt but also she was bored out of her mind. In her condition she couldn't do much of anything except lie down and allow Val to spoon-feed her. She didn't mind the attention she got from Val in fact she started depending on him for everything just to make sure he and Ailah didn't spend much time alone together. She was jealous of the pretty young girl whom Val seemed intrigued by, even though he made Filia a beautiful necklace that she was twisting around between her fingers. If the thought of Val making her a gift and not Ailah was to make her feel better, it didn't. She just kept imagining the two of them together far away somewhere where Filia would not bother them and how happy both of them were.  
With that image burned in her mind's eye, Filia vowed that she would regain her strength and find someway to get Ailah out of the picture. She didn't want to admit it, but she would find a way even if it meant hurting her.  
"My, my, Filia-san why do you have such an awful scowl on your face? It is very unbecoming for a dragon of your caliber!"   
Filia's eyes widen till there was nothing but a slit of pupil at the sound of the impossibly too-cheery voice that came from her side. Against her good judgment she turned her head around, although it was rather painful, to face her tormenter.   
Xelloss was beside her in her bed, acting in a fashion that they were lovers, with his thrice-accursed mask on as if there weren't a thing wrong with this picture.  
Slowly he ran his fingers through her hair while his other hand gently caressed her bandaged arm, aggravating the wounds. Filia let out a silent hiss between her clenched teeth as the pain shot up and down her arm. One has to give credit to Xelloss for being both cruel and kind in the same exact moment and by the smile on his face he was enjoying her pain, feeding off of it.  
Filia tried in vain to call out for help but the words would not come out. In her mind however she was screaming her head off at the realization that ihei came back and most likely to finish what he started.  
"You didn't answer my question Filia-san!" The way Xelloss said that was more of a demand than a request.  
The only answer Filia could muster was a tiny whimper as she mentally called out for someone to come help her, save her, ianythingi so she did not have to face whatever the wicked mazoku had in store for her. She prayed that Val would sense the dark presence Xelloss gave off and check on her.  
'Val please! I need you! Please hurry!' her mind chanted over and over hoping Val would pick up the telepathic message.  
"I'm afraid Val won't be coming this time Filia-san, no matter how hard you pray!" Filia grew silently still as his words hit her.   
"Where is he? What did you do to him?" At last Filia found her voice.  
"Sore wa hitmitsu desu!" Xelloss purred against the side of her face.  
Tears began to pool in her clear blue eyes as Filia let her imagination run wild. She thought Val could be injured or worse ideadi for all she knew. But she couldn't dwell on how he fared as yet another wave of pain shot through her battered arm from Xelloss toying with it. She thought it best to not try to provoke him since she was injured already, not to mention he was sufficiently more powerful than her even in her full dragon form. For her sake and Val's she decided to just wait it out a little longer and see if he would leave on his own for once.   
Not like that was going to happen.  
"My, my Filia-san you really made a mess out of yourself didn't you? Oh well I guess accidents can happen." After saying that Xelloss leaned in closer to her ear and quietly whispered… "And sometimes they idoi!"  
If Filia could be anymore shocked than she already was, now was it.  
  
~Elsewhere~  
  
"I should go check on Filia and see if she needs anything. I have the strangest feeling that she needs me." Val put down his ax from cutting firewood for the next couple of nights and set off to leave the forest to go back to the cottage. He stopped after seeing a pretty yellow daffodil and stooped down to pick it for Filia. They were very rare this time of year and they were Filia's favorite. Val beamed and just knew she would feel even better than she had been the last few days when she would receive the precious flower. Val just gazed lovingly at the flower and thought how Filia's hair was almost the same exact color. As he started out for the cottage again he noticed a flash of pink from around a tree and saw Ailah peek her head from around it. With a smile, Val gestured her to come with him so that they could walk back together. After the candle incident Ailah had been extra shy around Val almost to where she was avoiding him on purpose. Val just brushed it off as her being embarrassed or something and left it alone. He knew when she was ready she would act like her normal self again.  
As she walked towards him, Val noticed there was something different about her. He couldn't put his finger on it as she walked with a cat-like grace and had a mysterious glint in her eyes. Val couldn't stop the thought that although she wasn't acting normal she looked very sexy. Before Val knew what hit him, Ailah covered his lips with her own, sealing them together in a kiss. After the shock of it, Val gave into the kiss and the daffodil he was holding fell to the ground.  
When the kiss was over Ailah just stared deeply into Val's eyes, twisting a lock of aqua hair. Val needless to say was speechless, as he stood dumbfounded at the girl before him. Turning around and throwing a seductive glance at him Ailah started back towards the cottage. Val, like a mindless drone, followed quickly after her, not noticing the trampled daffodil under his foot.  
  
  
A solitary petal falls.  
  
  
To be continued…  
  
  
A/N: Ohmigod she actually got another chapter out and it didn't take more than 3 weeks. Wow I must be sick or something lol. Actually I have been sick the past couple of days but I'm much better now. Anyways let me know what you think of the newest chapter! I hope you all liked it, I'm very proud of it actually. She's getting to the good part folks. ^_^  
For GoldenAmbrosia I brought Xelloss back earlier than I anticipated just for you. Hope you liked it and I'm sorry that I haven't been much of a reviewer I just wait till a couple of chapters are out that way I can read a lot all at once. It's just my way.  
Ok peoples again I'm doing my little reviewer contest thingy. For the 100th reviewer they will have their choice of a teaser or for me to answer a question even if it's a spoiler. So till then minna and please keep those reviews coming in!!! 


	9. Masochism at it's best

~Chapter 8~  
  
"And sometimes accidents do happen!"  
The eeriness of his voice made chills run up and down Filia's spine as she gazed with horror at what Xelloss just said. Different thoughts were running through her head, what does he mean by that? How does he know it was an accident? Then another thought struck her…  
'Does he know who Ailah is or what she is for that matter?'  
"Of course I know who she is Filia-san, after all I am the one who sent her here!" Xelloss said with a smirk.  
With those words everything around Filia came crashing down. Xelloss expected this and was pleased that Filia was falling right into his hands. All was going as planned and soon Filia would be nothing more than a mere shadow of her former self that will be more than willing to be molded to his vision. But for now he decided to play with her a little more till the grand climax of his plan decided to present itself. This time when he touched her wounded arm he dug his nails into the abused flesh causing Filia to break out of her trance and cry out in anguish.   
Smiling with glee, Xelloss then twisted his nails around in her arm much like he did to Valgarv's dragon arm with his staff so many years ago in the mix breed's lair. Although her physical pain was delightful, he needed so much more; he needed her to be emotionally damaged as well. So of course he was going to taunt her.  
"Why Filia-san, I thought a Golden Dragon such as yourself would be able to detect what was wrong with my Ailah! After all you have almost completely mastered sensing me."  
All the while he was taunting her Filia was scolding herself. How could she have not sensed that Ailah was a mazoku! To think that she left one of those filthy demons into her home and the fact that Val welcomed her with open arms and trust was just enough to make her go insane. All through her mind were images of Ailah, Ailah, AILAH!!! Ailah walking with Val, Ailah sitting next to him at dinner, Ailah helping him with the shop, but most of all Ailah and her silent smile that seemed to mock her every time she saw it.  
Now Filia knew where she saw that smile before and it was the same exact smile that Xelloss was wearing at that very moment.  
"Why are you doing this to me Xelloss? After the experience with Dark Star I thought there was an understanding between us! How could you send a mazoku into my house after all we've been through?" Filia, near tears, waited for his response, she had to know why!  
For a few moments Xelloss just sat there but then he busted out laughing like he just heard a tremendously funny joke. Filia needless to say, was confused by his behavior.  
After a few moments Xelloss calmed himself letting out only a few giggles. He cupped Filia's chin in his hand looking her straight in the eye.  
"My dear Filia-san, whoever said she was a mazoku?" Saying that he let go of Filia and proceeded to laugh again.  
Filia by then was even more confused than ever, but if Ailah wasn't a mazoku, then what was she?  
"I… I… I don't understand all this. Why is this happening? Why is this happening to me?" Filia said aloud but mostly to herself. Suddenly, she was enveloped by Xelloss' arms in a tight embrace. Xelloss, while he ran his fingers through her hair said, "Do you really want to know why I am doing all of this?"   
With a slight nod of her head, Filia looked up at Xelloss as he went closer to her ear and whispered,  
"To see you suffer!"  
Filia let out a gasp and tried her hardest to remove herself from his grip but Xelloss held on tightly. He wasn't going to let her go anywhere.  
"You may as well cease your struggling because I will not let go of you. Not now, not ever." Saying that Xelloss bent his head and gave Filia a hard kiss on her mouth. Filia let out a muffled protest and Xelloss took that as his unwelcome invitation to enter her mouth with his tongue. Shock and anger flowed through Filia's veins and the only thing she could think of to stop him was to bite down really hard.  
Xelloss pulled back quickly with a hand covering his mouth, a look of surprise in his eyes. Filia took this as her chance and with summoning all her strength bolted for the door. Unfortunately for her, she wasn't strong enough to walk yet and she tripped over her own feet onto the floor. She tried to get up but she couldn't, it took too much of her to move so fast and she was beginning to feel very weak. All she could do now was watch as Xelloss loomed over her and pray.  
  
~Inside the cottage~  
  
They finally made it to the cottage after a few setbacks, mostly instigated by Ailah. One couldn't tell but she was very flirtatious and kept trying to kiss Val every chance she got.  
Val was very embarrassed. While he did like Ailah she was moving a bit too fast for him and besides his heart longed for another. Even if he couldn't be with her, Val loved Filia with all his heart. It didn't matter to him that she was his adopted mother or she was much older than him. None of that did. He still loved her and he believed he always would. Ailah was a very sweet girl but she wasn't Filia, and if he couldn't be with Filia then he wouldn't be with anyone at all.  
But who ever said that one couldn't play around as Ailah went in for another kiss. Although he had never kissed anyone like this before, he couldn't help but think that Ailah's lips were rather cold and almost lifeless. He broke the kiss because he didn't want anyone to see them like this, even though Jillas and Gravos were in town gathering supplies and wouldn't be back till much later, Val still felt like he was being spied on. His thoughts were erased when he felt Ailah's lips on his once more.  
  
  
~At that very same moment~  
  
Filia gazed up at Xelloss with fear and dread at what he might do to her. He made it clear many times that it didn't matter whether she lived or died but whatever he had in store for her, she hoped it would be quick.  
Bending down towards her, Xelloss grabbed a fist full of her hair forcing her to bring her face to his. Turning her face to the side he opened his mouth and licked her cheek with his tongue leaving a trail of fresh blood from the bite she caused. Filia was expecting a slap or a punch perhaps but not something this… vile.  
Filia looked up at him wondering why he did that, but saw that he wasn't even looking at her at all. He was staring intently at the door for a while, and an evil smile crept on his lips.  
Xelloss stood up then, forcing Filia too as well. She was a bit wobbly but Xelloss held onto her from behind keeping her steady. He went to turn the knob but stopped only to wrap his kerchief around Filia's mouth to keep her from talking. Satisfied that it was tight enough to muffle any sound she should make, Xelloss opened the door. He had a deathly grip on her so she wouldn't pull free from his grasp, so there wasn't much Filia could do except go wherever Xelloss was taking her.  
For some reason or another he stopped just before they reached the top of the staircase. Xelloss nuzzled his face in her hair squeezing her body tightly against his.  
"Down there is my gift to you!"  
Again he started walking but stopped right at the very edge of the first step. Filia was appalled by what she saw.  
There locked in each other's arms, were Val and Ailah. But what was most heart wrenching of it all was their lips pressed against the other in a deep kiss.  
It was something out of a nightmare. She couldn't believe this was happening right in front of very own eyes. Filia wanted to be the one who Val held like that and to feel his lips upon hers. But this… this was too much for her to bear. It was what she most feared come true. An evil entity was taking Val away from her by seducing him and from the look on his face Val was enjoying the kiss. How could she have let this happen? Soon Ailah would take him away from here or maybe awaken the darkness that lived in Valgarv's soul for so many years. He would revert to the evil ways of the mazoku if they so wished. Filia wouldn't be able to stand it if it came to that. Xelloss gave her a very tight squeeze bringing Filia back from her thoughts from the pain it caused. For a moment Filia forgot he was even there. But how could she forget him? He was after all the one who started this.  
With a chuckle, Xelloss whispered… "Surprise!"  
  
  
To be continued…  
  
  
A/N: Well… whaddya think? Any thoughts or your presumptions about who Ailah is, or what is Xelloss up to would be great! I'd love to hear what you think is going to happen next! Yea we all knew Xelloss was the shadowy figure lol. But isn't he so evil in this chapter?? Well I think so anyway! XD  
Yea to those who thought I was going to put the teaser that I had for my 50th reviewer in here sorry but I'm afraid it's going to be in the next chapter. Yea I know I promised this one but I think this one was great without it. Guess you'll just have to read the next chapter.  
Oh while I'm thinking of it, for my 100th reviewer you will also get a special award graphic to put on your website along with my usual teaser/question routine. Lol perhaps that will motivate people???  
Anyhow now that I'm on Spring Break I have more time to write! (Let's just hope my parents will quit bothering me to find a new job, huh?) So be on the lookout for the next chapter real soon. 


	10. Truths revealed

~Chapter 9~  
  
  
"So Filia do you like my present?" Xelloss purred in her ear. The response he got was just what he was expecting. From the shock of the scene before her and the exhaustion from their earlier encounter, Filia collapsed, fainting in his arms.  
Xelloss couldn't be happier than he was now. Everything was going just as he foresaw. Lifting Filia up in his arms, her hair falling like liquid gold, Xelloss walked down the stairs towards the unsuspecting Val.  
Val broke off the kiss when he heard someone come down the stairs. Looking up he saw Xelloss with Filia in his arms, the latter unconscious.  
Val on instinct stood in front of Ailah shielding her in case Xelloss decided to attack. But Xelloss couldn't have caused more pain than he already did if he blasted down the cottage with them in it, although he did have more in store for the little family.  
Now Xelloss stood merely inches away from Val letting out an evil chuckle.  
"I'm sorry was I interrupting anything important?"  
Val gave a low growl deep in his throat angry that Xelloss would again dare to intrude his home and threaten his family. He became even more outraged when he saw the streak of dried blood on the side of Filia's face. "What are you doing here Xelloss and what did you do to Filia?" he asked.  
Xelloss merely smirked in reply causing a shiver to run down Val's spine. Val was about to repeat the question but a small moan broke his thoughts as Filia regained consciousness. Val was relieved to see she only fainted.  
Filia looked around the room to regain her bearings but as her gaze locked with Val's a flash of the kiss came before her eyes. She couldn't stand to look at him right then so she turned her head away from him to bury her head in the chest of who was holding her.  
"My, my Filia I see you have woke up finally." Xelloss said.  
Filia, at the mere sound of his voice, escaped from his arms and ran away quick as she could to get away from both Xelloss and Val.  
Val started to go after her but stopped not wanting to leave Ailah alone with Xelloss. He turned around and saw Ailah gazing intently at Xelloss, he doing the same as well. A look of fear appeared in Ailah's eyes and she backed away from Xelloss and ran off upstairs.  
"What were you doing to her Xelloss?" Val shouted.  
Turning only his head Xelloss gave a simple answer. "We were just talking! That's all!"  
With a huff of disgust Val went out the door to retrieve Filia who only made a few steps out of the door collapsing again for a second time that day.  
Val was quickly by her side attempting to pick her up and bring her back in the house but was shocked as she slapped his hand away.  
"Please go away, I just want to be left alone!" She whispered on the brink of tears. Val just stood there not moving and when he tried to reach out for her again Filia screamed at him to leave her be.  
All Val could do was let out a tiny "Why?" as he watched her.  
Filia tried her hardest not to cry and it was taking a lot out of her but she would not cry and show Xelloss he had broken her.  
She was a strong Golden Dragon, once a priestess of the Fire Dragon King; she would not let a simple kiss get the best of her.  
But then why did her heart ache so badly?  
This time when Val picked her up she did not argue but she would not look at him at all. In her mind she was screaming and cursing at him and Val picked up the vibes she was giving off realizing that she was angry with him.  
"What could have made her so upset with me?" he thought to himself. He assumed at first that it was Xelloss who had her so upset but she was being hostile towards him. It didn't make sense unless…  
She SAW them!  
When it hit Val everything was placed together.   
Xelloss planned for this to happen, he wanted to have Filia catch him and Ailah together.   
And it worked.  
Inside the house Xelloss was nowhere to be seen but his presence was evident. He was just waiting for the right moment once again before he intervened. But Val had no time to worry about Xelloss with Filia in her condition. She took a lot out of herself and she shouldn't have been moving to begin with. If she kept up like this she could seriously harm herself more than she already was.  
Val looked down at the woman in his harms and felt a wave of sadness flow through him. Here was a woman who could do anything she ever put her mind too and had to work hard for the things she had. She was strong with a sense of pride that he didn't know where she had gotten. Not that he knew much of her past to begin with. But she would never let anyone be rude to her or to her loved ones and no one dared to disagree with her and her deadly mace.  
The only two who ever got away without a severe beating when they disagreed with her were Miss Lina and Xelloss. But although Miss Lina could be scary at times she would never hurt Filia. (to a certain extent ^_~) Xelloss on the other hand would kill her in a second. And it was because of Xelloss that she was a shadow of her former self now, a limp doll in his arms.  
Setting her down gently in a chair Val looked at her for a few moments then whirled around at the faint chuckle of a mysterious priest.   
"My, my it seems that I might have gone to far!" Xelloss said as he stared at Filia who was quietly looking down at her hands in her lap.  
Val lunged at Xelloss but missed him for he phased out only to re-appear next to Filia this time. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders which angered Val only more. Val gave out a low primitive growl warning Xelloss to watch himself. But Val was playing right into Xelloss' hands and now was the time for the ace he had hidden up his sleeve.  
"I never did realize just how over-protective you dragons were!"  
Val barley noticed Filia stiffen at that comment because he was trying to comprehend it himself. "Did he just say… dragons?"  
Xelloss was ecstatic by Val's look of confusion and Filia's mixed feelings of horror and fear.   
"Oh you didn't know Val? You mean to tell me that Filia never told you of your heritage?" Xelloss paused for a moment no longer looking at Val but at Filia, "Not to mention her own?"  
Val didn't know why Xelloss would say such a thing but he couldn't decide whether to believe him or not. Filia told Val Xelloss never lied, he only told half-truths.   
Xelloss wasn't doing either unfortunately. He was telling the ugly bitter truth.  
"What do you mean dragons? Filia and I are normal human beings." Val sputtered out.  
Xelloss laughed at that. "I'm afraid you and her are far from it. You both are dragons. Enemy races to be exact. She is of the endangered Golden Dragons and you, well let's just say you really are one of a kind."  
Val, perfectly still, whispered, "What do you mean by that?"  
"Surely you are smarter than that Val, your race the Ancient Dragons have been extinct for centuries."  
Val couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Extinct?"  
"Yes you know wiped out, exterminated, to say it simply DEAD!"  
Val didn't know why but at that his chest tightened almost to the point where he couldn't breathe.  
"And you know what else?" Val lifted his head for Xelloss to continue.  
Pointing a gloved finger at Filia he said, "Her race is responsible for all of it!"  
Val slowly turned his gaze on Filia. He was silent for a moment before he asked, "Tell me he is lying. Tell me we aren't dragons, that we are normal humans. Tell me it's not true. Please?"  
Filia could only look at Val but her eyes spoke the words she couldn't.  
"Oh but Val it doesn't stop there you know! Ask her about Valgarv!" Xelloss was not done with his torments. When neither of them continued Xelloss decided to just tell him himself.  
"See Val, you are Valgarv! Well were Valgarv at least." Val tore his gaze from Filia to look at Xelloss wondering what he was talking about.  
"Let me start from the beginning. When Filia's kind murdered yours, you were the only one to survive. You became a wanted fugitive to them but they left you to your death in the desert. You would have surely died if not for Garv. You remember him don't you?"  
For some reason the name Garv struck something inside Val but he couldn't determine what it was. He didn't have time to dwell on it because Xelloss started to continue.  
"Garv took pity on you and decided to make you his servant. But in order to do that you had to die and become like him… a mazoku."  
Val froze. He used to be a mazoku? Like Xelloss?  
"At that time you wanted nothing more than to have revenge on the Golden Dragons for their crimes and agreed. You died by Garv's sword only to be reborn again as Valgarv, a mazoku servant to Garv the Chaos-Dragon King. But your story did not end there, no, Garv was killed and you wanted revenge on his death as well. But you ended up almost destroying the entire world but guess who stopped you?"  
When Val said nothing Xelloss just went on. "It was Miss Lina and her friends. Which included me, and one other. Would you like to guess who?"  
Val said nothing but Xelloss tried to goad him on. "Oh come on guess! You know her very well. One could say she is like a mother to you!"  
"Xelloss please stop this! You've done enough!" Both men turned to look at Filia who was now standing and obviously angry that Xelloss would do this to Val.  
"Filia…" Xelloss began but was interrupted by Val who moved to stand in front of Filia with a hurt look in his eyes. He would ask her one more time.  
"Filia, please. Tell me it's not true. All this Xelloss said about Ancient and Golden dragons, Garv, the mazoku, all of it. Tell me and I'll believe you. You just have to say one word and this can all be over and we can go back to living like the normal humans we are. You just have to say the word."  
As much as she would have liked to believe it would be over, Filia knew that her guilt would never end. She had to tell him the truth for her own solace.  
Filia took Val's hands in hers and after a deep breath whispered slowly, "My people took your life and Garv gave you another one, only for it to be taken away again from a Golden Dragon, from me. What Xelloss said is true... all of it."  
Filia opened her eyes and her heart completely shattered at the look on Val's face.  
"I must say I am disappointed in you Filia. You kept the most important parts of his life from him, his past, his heritage, who he is and you are supposed to be his mother!"  
"All this time she lied to me?" Val whispered mostly to himself.  
Filia felt like crying but not while Xelloss was still there. He must have sensed this because he came up next to her and with a brush against her face said, "It's ok to cry you know! Because you deserve all of this." And with that Xelloss phased out.  
Filia didn't dare move yet. Val just stood there and he looked like his whole world was destroyed. Ironically though it had.  
"What can I say to him? What can I possibly say that would erase all this? What can I do for him?"   
When Filia went to hold him it was his turn to brush her away. Filia knew she deserved it and much worse but she couldn't let Val shut himself out after something like this.  
"Val?" Filia tried to get his attention.  
"……"  
When he didn't say anything she tried again.  
"Val… I…"  
"How could you keep something like this from me?" Val screamed at the top of his lungs. Filia flinched at the harshness. He was severely angry with Filia from finding out the truth about himself and his past history with her. So many thoughts were going through his mind, but they all led back to his anger at Filia. He couldn't believe she would keep something so important from him. His whole life she lied to him. There was no excuse she could give him that would calm him down. Although she did try…  
"Please Val listen to me! I didn't want you to find out this way, I was trying to protect you!" Filia was trying her hardest to make him listen to her but the more she talked the angrier Val got.  
"Protect me from what Filia? You know good and well that I can take care of myself, I don't need you to baby me anymore."  
Filia was taken aback from his remark but she tried in vain to erase the horrible wrong she had done.  
"Val if there was one thing in my life that I could redo…" but Val wouldn't let her finish, he just couldn't take being around her anymore.  
He stormed towards the door but Filia sprang to it before he could open it. With a scowl on his face he about near growled at her to move away from the door.  
Filia wouldn't budge until he heard her out but he kept refusing, his anger growing more by the minute. Now Filia was becoming angry and in her most stern voice she told him, "I forbid you to go anywhere without us resolving this."  
That was the last straw for him. With a look that could kill, Val told her in an eerily calm voice, "You… forbid? You can't forbid me to do anything anymore! You are not my mother. YOU NEVER WERE!!!"  
With that Val pushed Filia from the door and left but not without shutting the door with an earth-shattering slam.   
At first Filia just stared at the door as if she never saw it before. Then she looked at it as if she thought Val would come through the door. With the same goofy smile he always wore and he would give her a big bear hug, telling her how much he loved her and that he forgave her. But he didn't, and after a few moments what he said finally hit her full force. With no hope left in her, Filia let all the anguish inside her out with a never-ending stream of tears that she could finally release.  
  
To be continued...  
  
A/N: Well... whaddya think??? I hope you liked this chapter because I worked really hard on it and took a lot of time on it. I've decided that I'm going to try to have a new chapter out every Saturday starting next week. I think I will be able to now because I know where my fic is going and I know how I am going to end it yada yada, etc. But if I can't get the new chapter out every Saturday I apologize but it will most likely be because of something I have no control over. I recently made an outline of the story and if you're curious to see it then please feel free to e-mail me. I am not going to post it here so those who want to see a tiny spec of what is coming up you are going to have to e-mail me. The way it is figured out there will be 20 chapters, 21 total for the lemon version of the ending. That is only going to be optional to read, you don't need to read it to see how it ends. Well please r/r because it really motivates me and makes me happy that people want to read my work. ^_^ 


	11. Vanished

~Chapter 10~  
  
  
Filia did not know when she fallen asleep but it was well after dusk when she awoke. The cottage was extremely quiet and she found herself lying in the middle of the floor of her living room. She was groggy, also very weak, and she assumed she overexerted herself by working too hard again. Sitting up now she stretched her arms and tried to soothe her aching back. It wasn't just her back her whole body was aching actually and it felt like it was weighed down with a ton of bricks as she attempted to stand up. It took a couple of tries for her not to fall over and she wondered why she was feeling like this. She made her way towards the kitchen for some tea to ease her muscles but stopped midway when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror on the wall. She went closer to the mirror to get a better look at herself and was shocked at what she saw. Her hair that she always kept neat and well brushed was disheveled and had several bad tangles. Her face had cuts in various places and a few bluish purple bruises that were badly swollen. Strangely enough there was a long streak of dried blood on the side of her face but when she touched it there was no wound confirming that it wasn't her own. But what caught Filia's attention were her eyes as they were slightly puffy and bloodshot. From the way her eyes looked Filia thought she had been crying for several hours.  
Her thoughts were broken as her muscles began to hurt again so she decided that after she got her tea she would draw a nice hot bubble bath. After setting the kettle on the stove she went to a cabinet where she kept all her teas and settled for a bag of green tea. She really needed the bubble bath to let the hot water ease out the soreness in her muscles so after she got her tea ready she went outside to get water for the bath. It was hard to take up the two buckets full of water upstairs to the bathroom and she almost fell down the stairs when the buckets pulled too much on her weak arms. Finally managing to get to the bathroom she poured the buckets into the tub and chanted a small heat spell to warm the water. After she put some bath crystals into the water to make a lot of bubbles she went back to the kitchen to retrieve her tea.  
Filia returned shortly and after she undressed stepped into the steamy tub. It took a minute for her to get used to the hot water but it did take a good amount of the soreness out of her stiff body. She took a couple sips of her tea to help relax her from the inside while the water worked on the outside. Thinking back to her hair she took a deep breath and submerged herself under the water coming back up after her hair was sufficiently wet. Before she did anything else she just lied back and closed her eyes letting the water just comfort her body for the time being. It felt so good as the water lightly caressed her skin almost like a light massage. Her thoughts wandered as she noticed that it was too quiet in the house and wandered where everyone was. She wished she knew where Val went because she wanted him to give her a nice back rub after she was done with her bath. But as soon as she thought of Val her eyes began to water for she slowly started to remember what she desperately tried in vain to forget. Memories of Xelloss torturing her, and Val screaming at her, …the kiss… all flashed trough her mind. She thought if she closed her eyes it would all stop but even then she still saw the haunting images. She was so absorbed with trying to forget, that she didn't notice the sudden chill in the room and the dark shadow hovering over her. When she felt a hot breath of air brush past her ear she turned around and was met with sudden darkness.  
  
  
~Elsewhere~  
  
"She lied… she lied… she lied… SHE LIED!!!" Val screamed at the top of his lungs. He decided that he needed to take a walk and blow off a lot of steam before he would go off on an innocent passerby. He was still angry, make that infuriated at Filia for what she had done.  
'All this time my life has been a lie. And she knew but never told me. NEVER!!!'  
The feelings of betrayal that coursed through him were still strong. He had never felt so full of anger and rage before at someone. He had never been so angry with her! She, who scolded him whenever he lied and told him how wrong it was, that he should always be truthful no matter what. She was the liar!  
He didn't care if it was for his own benefit she still lied and this was something one should never hide away. He needed to know this sort of thing; he needed to know who he was and where he came from. He wanted to know more about himself, his people, his heritage; everything there was to know about him.  
He knew he couldn't go back home now until he calmed himself down. If he did go back now there was no telling what he would do to Filia. And yet through all that happened he still loved her with all his heart.  
Val believed he wasn't angry with Filia, he was just more hurt; his anger should be directed towards Xelloss. That wretched person cared for nothing but his own self and was pleased by other's pain and anguish. Well that was to be expected, he is a mazoku after all.   
'And one time so was I.' Val thought to himself.  
Was everything that Xelloss said really true? Was he so consumed with the thought of revenge for his kind that he would resort to becoming a mazoku? Did he truly want to destroy the world and everything in it? Did he want to destroy Filia?  
Of course not! Val knew who he was and he would never wish harm on Filia or anyone else, besides Xelloss that is.   
Now that his anger was subsiding Val was faced with new emotions, disbelief and utter confusion.   
He knew himself to be a good person. He was not someone to hate so easily and wish despair on others so he would be justified. Or was he?  
Val was so confused by everything. Was there anything good that he done in his past life as a mazoku? Was the anger he felt just a few moments ago just a minor percent of what he felt before in his other life that lasted for years?  
The more Val dwelled on everything he began to ask new questions. 'Why did the Golds murder my race, what did we do to them to make them hate us so? Did I hate Filia because she was a Gold? Did she hate me when I was an Ancient Dragon or a mazoku? Why was I made into a mazoku? Who was Garv? And what did he make me a mazoku for?'  
Val knew that his questions would go unanswered if he just asked himself so he was going to ask the one person who, hopefully, knew the answer to everything.   
He just hoped he wouldn't get hit in the head with her mace for storming out on her.  
  
  
When Val finally got back to the cottage Filia was nowhere to be found.  
  
  
To be continued…  
  
  
A/N: Sorry this was extremely short but I've been kinda having some RL problems that couldn't be pushed aside for writing. I do hope you enjoy it however and I promise the next chapter will be longer and more exciting. Well that's all I have to say at the moment cept to remind you all of the 100th reviewer thing, I can't wait to see who wins. 


	12. Without a Trace

~Chapter 11~  
  
  
Nowhere! That was all there was to it, she was nowhere to be found. Vanished, without a trace to her present whereabouts, it was as if she was never there to begin with. She was just… gone.  
Val searched the entire cottage with a desperate yearning to find Filia. All his efforts were for nothing though. He just couldn't find her.  
At first he thought she went for a walk or she went off to find him perhaps. However those notions were gone from his head when he found something out of place.  
In the bathroom there was a spilt cup of tea next to the tub, which still had warm water in it.  
Knowing Filia she would never let a cup of tea spill on the floor let alone leave it there but why would her bath water be warm still and her not in the house?  
It then hit Val what must have happened. He didn't even need to guess who was to blame for Filia's disappearance.  
Xelloss.  
The more Val thought of it, the more it made sense. Val could now sense that he had been there.  
'He must have known that we would argue and took it as his chance to kidnap Filia. The sick bastard actually took her while she was bathing.' Val thought to himself with a scowl of anger on his face as he pieced the puzzle together.  
Now that he knew what happened to Filia the questions he had to answer now was where did Xelloss take Filia and how was he going to get her back. That was more important to him than finding out about his past. And besides he couldn't find his answers without Filia anyway.  
'I wonder if she is alright?' Val thought to himself feeling guilty of the way he treated her. He made a vow to himself that when this was over he would make everything right again.   
If Val hated Xelloss before it did not compare to the measure of hostility he felt now for the mysterious priest. The more Val thought of Xelloss he would imagine what he would try to do to Filia if he didn't reach her in time. And what he was picturing wasn't the both of them having tea together.  
'I won't let that happen! But where would he take her? Where could they have gone?' Val questioned himself. In all the time he had known Xelloss he didn't actually know that much about him. He really was mysterious. Val knew that mazoku go to the astral plane and he wondered a moment if he had taken her there but wasn't there somewhere else that Xelloss lived? Yes there was somewhere else but he could not place what the name was let alone how to get there. He chided himself for not listening to Miss Lina when she told him of her travels, before she met Filia, and most of those stories had Xelloss in them and she gave important facts about him that he needed to remember right now.  
'Let's see… did she say he lived on… what was it… an island? Yes! Miss Lina did say it was an island but what did she call it? Was it Beast Island? No, Xelloss' master was called Beastmaster though. Yes, Beastmaster Zelas Metallium! She was one of the subordinates of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu, the Dark Lord of this world. That was all Val knew of her save for the fact she had a terrible smoking habit and was a bit of a drunk now and then. But what was her island called?  
Letting out an exasperated sigh, Val left the bathroom trying his hardest to remember the name of the island where he assumed Filia was.  
As he was coming down the stairway he heard Jillas and Gravos coming back from their daily errands. When they asked where their Onee-chan was, Val delved into the whole story of what transpired while they were out. When he was finished the two beast men had looks of utter shock on their faces.  
Those looks didn't help Val feel any better it only made him feel worse. He was sure they were going to scold him for hurting Filia the way he did but he was actually surprised to hear them say… "Don't worry Val, we'll help you find Onee-chan and give that evil Xelloss what's coming to him." Jillas said with a sound of determination in his voice. Gravos simply nodded his head in agreement. Val gave them each a grateful look for being so understanding.   
"Well we better start getting ready. I have a feeling that we are going to be away from home for a very long time."  
  
  
A/N: Gods I am so sorry it took so long to get this posted, and it doesn't help that it was real short. I didn't know what else to write for this chapter but I can assure you the next one will be good. I've just been on this writer's block kick for the past few weeks and I was afraid for a moment that I was losing interest with this fic. I had begun writing a pro-V/F essay that I will post at Destined Dragons real soon so that was yet another reason for the delay.   
Gomen minna san!!! ^_^; 


	13. Enter Wolf Pack Island

-Chapter 12-  
  
  
Filia opened her eyes to meet with surrounding darkness. Her head pounded painfully as she tried to recollect what had happened and to figure out just where in the four worlds she was. She felt around the walls meeting solid stone with occasional mildew and moss growing from in between the cracks. At one point she felt what could only be chains meant to bind a person by their arms and legs attached to the wall opposite from where she woke up. There were no windows so she was unable to tell whether it was night or day and the only door she could find was locked tight. Anybody could see she was in a cell of a dungeon or something like that. She let out a tiny sigh, any thoughts she had of escape were pointless. She was trapped.  
  
The only thing she could do now, was sit and wait for her captor to arrive. Hours that lasted for what seemed an eternity went by and Filia was starting to get antsy. 'Just how long are they going to keep me waiting here like this?' Filia's stomach let out a growl of protest for not having eaten in a long while. Filia gave out another sigh as she held her stomach to try to quiet its protests down. She lied down to possibly go back to sleep but it was difficult with the floor being so cold and uncomfortable. There wasn't even any straw to sleep on, now whoever her captor was, was just plain cruel to not even do that. She didn't know how right she was. She lay there for some time worrying over her situation till the beckons of slumber took over.  
  
She woke again only this time to the sound of footsteps coming ever closer to her. She tried to keep her breathing even and pretend she was still asleep but whoever her captor was wasn't fooled by her act. This person now hovered over her and lightly brushed gloved fingers through a few strands of hair. Filia grimaced as she realized who her captor was. Xelloss knew she was awake and it was pointless to pretend otherwise. She turned herself around silently cursing herself for not realizing sooner that this was all his doing. Filia had never hated anyone as much as she hated the mazoku that was grinning at her right now. It was because of him that her world came crashing down upon her; it was because of him that Val was gone. Filia tried to hold back the tears as she began to remember what had all transpired that afternoon. It still hurt deeply but she refused to cry in front of Xelloss, she would not break down and let him win.  
  
'But why am I here? Where is here for that matter?' Filia mentally asked herself attempting to think of anything but Val.  
  
"Wolf Pack Island." Xelloss answered her unspoken question.  
  
Filia looked up at him confusion written all over her face. "What?"  
  
Xelloss gave her one of his Cheshire cat smiles and said, "I just assumed you were wondering just as to where you are Miss Filia. You are at the home of my mistress, the Beastmaster Zelas Metallium. As I said you are at Wolf Pack Island."  
  
As to what Filia was feeling at that moment petrified would be an understatement.   
  
"Why have you brought me here? Haven't you had enough fun tormenting me already?" Filia tried to swallow her fear but it wasn't really working, as a small tremble was evident in her voice. If Xelloss had noticed he gave no sign.  
  
"My dear Miss Filia, I have only begun my fun with you! By the time I am done with you, you will either submit willingly to me or beg me to kill you. The choice is yours of course!" He wore the same smile but this time his eyes opened to mere slits daring her to question him.  
  
'He says it's my choice but in reality we both know that that is the first lie he has ever made.'  
  
Filia did not speak a word but gave a tiny shiver to the sudden temperature drop in the cell. It was then as she wrapped her arms around herself that she realized she was still naked from her bath earlier. She was always so conscious about her modesty and virtue so how could something like this have gotten past her? Unless… she turned to Xelloss who just sat there and smiled. She gave him a glare but before she could say a word about her fury about his lecherous eyes he wrapped his arms around her forcing her to stand up. Filia was scared for after today Xelloss proved that he was capable of anything.  
  
Massaging the back of her head, Xelloss gave a chuckle. "There is no need to be bashful anymore Miss Filia. I looked at every nook and cranny of your body while you were unconscious."   
  
Filia was repulsed from his confession and she knew he could sense it. She just stood there while he fiddled with her hair and wished to L-sama that there were a way to get out of here in one piece. "Oh Val I wish you were here…" she thought to herself.  
  
  
  
A/N: Ohmigod when was the last time I posted a new chapter??? O_o; I am so sorry for disappointing my loyal readers like this. I feel so ashamed! There's no real excuse as to why I've been on such a long hiatus just lack of inspiration on my part. ^^; Believe me when I say that I will finish this but right now I need some help, some ideas or thoughts on what Val should do while he searches for Filia. I need to throw some obstacles in his way, I can't just have him find Wolf Pack Island just like that. I do have one thing that I want him to do that revolves around the story but I need some other things as well. As for what goes on with Filia and Xelloss don't worry I have ideas up the wazoo for those two. Please r&r and flames are accepted although I prefer criticism of my works to be more constructive. 


	14. Brief Interlude

-Chapter 13-  
  
"This is getting us nowhere!!" Val yelled at the top of his lungs. It had been three days since they left the cottage to go find Filia but it seemed that all they were doing was walking in circles.   
  
Val was becoming impatient. 'I swear we passed that same tree eight times already.' He thought to himself. Val didn't question Jillas and Gravos when they said they knew the lay of the land and that their tracking skills were second to none, but he was starting to wonder if that was all just in their heads.  
  
"Don't worry Master Val, me and the boss know what we're doing." Jillas said who was walking beside him. Gravos went a bit further ahead of them to get a better look-see.   
  
"I hope so Jillas. For Filia's sake I hope so." Val said feeling a wave of sadness as he remembered the last time he saw her, how horrible he was to her. Val was greatly ashamed of himself for the way he treated her and cursed himself for leaving her alone.   
  
'If only I had just been there! I should have protected her! People are supposed to protect the ones they love.' Val berated himself over and over again.   
  
Jillas must have noticed Val's anguish and patted him on the shoulder. Val looked at him, one of his best friends in the entire world, and wanted to start crying. Jillas gave him a reassuring smile and said, "Please Master Val, there's no sense in blaming yourself. That won't help Onee-chan at all."  
  
Val nodded his agreement. He had to admit it but for a dimwit of a fox man Jillas did know the right thing to say to make someone feel better. 'He's right. I need to concentrate on finding Filia. Once I have her back home and know that she is safe then I can go back on my guilt-trip.' Val started to pick up the pace passing Jillas up and started to gain on Gravos up ahead. Jillas startled by his young master's sudden determination began to run to catch up to him and the boss. Gravos was shocked to see both Val and Jillas run past him. "Um pardon me Master Val but you are going in the wrong direction!" he yelled after them.  
  
Hearing that, Val gave an abrupt stop, which caused Jillas to crash into him. They both fell over and landed in a heap of arms and legs. Gravos walked up to them and started to bust out laughing. Val let out a growl and said, "Gravos this is not funny!" while Jillas asked Gravos for a hand. Gravos leaned down to help them but Jillas brought Gravos tumbling down as revenge for laughing at their predicament. They were now just one big pile and after a few moments they all started to laugh together. Val loved moments like this. The three of them were closer than most brothers and they always made him feel better.   
  
After they finally got out of that mess, they started on their journey once again. They managed to get a good day's worth of walking in and it was soon after dusk that they decided to rest for the night. Val offered to guard the first watch since he didn't feel the need to sleep yet. He was still thinking of Filia and how he wished he could turn back time. 'She will never forgive me. Even if I save her, she will still hate me for how I treated her.' He thought to himself.   
  
A brush of cold swept over Val's body and he shuddered. It was not the time of the year for it to be that cold so what was it? This was happening every now and then but it was not the only thing that had Val worried. He also been having these flashes, and he couldn't determine what they were exactly. Everything would be just fine, and then he got a sudden pain in his head. It wasn't excruciating painful, just enough to make him stop whatever he was doing, and then these images would fly across his mind but they ended as soon as they appeared. They didn't last long enough for him to make them out. It had been like that for a while during their search. The farther from home they got the more frequent the flashes became, or was it because they were getting close to something? Val didn't ask Jillas or Gravos because he knew they would worry and he didn't need them to turn into nursemaids now.   
  
Val gave out a small yawn and gave a start when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Gravos snickering at him. "With your keen alertness, it's a wonder we haven't been ambushed yet." He said with a grin. Val wasn't amused and gave a huff of annoyance. Gravos sat down next to him poking at the fire that was almost out. He didn't say anything for a while, which Val was glad for, and the two of them sat in silence for some time. Just as Val was about to stand up and go to sleep, Gravos spoke up. "Sit down, talk for a while." He said. Val debated on whether he should but figured he might as well and sat back down.  
  
At first Gravos didn't say anything as if he were thinking of something. "I'd like to tell you a story." He said.  
  
Val became irritated. "I don't have time for one of your bedtime fairy tales Gravos." Val said and got up to leave again.  
  
"SIT DOWN!" Gravos yelled. Val turned around, shocked that his servant and friend would speak to him in such a way. One look from Gravos told Val that if he knew what was good for him, he'd sit down. He did and waited patiently for Gravos to continue. Gravos seemed to gain his calm demeanor again as if he never yelled at Val in the first place.  
  
"A long time ago I lived in a village that was filled with probably hundreds of my kind. It was a simple life but as expected it came with its own hardships, we usually didn't have much to eat since we didn't know a thing about agriculture. The things we were good at were forging and mining and that's how most of us made our living by trading with local merchants. We made our lives work for us, not against us. One day I realized that I had fallen in love with one of the local maidens in my village. She was quiet, very kind, most people never noticed her because she liked to keep to herself. I was afraid to get close to her mainly because I felt like she was out of my league and would call me a fool if I told her. The majority of my days were filled with thoughts of her and it ended up that I couldn't take anymore of it. I would have rather tell her how I felt and be rejected, than to live a life without ever knowing just how she felt… good or bad. So the very next day I went and forged her a bracelet as a token of my love for her. When I went to give it to her I froze up; it felt like I lost the ability to speak. As I went to leave, my village had started to be attacked by human raiders. I tried to protect her but it was no use. She, and everyone else, was killed that day. That was the day when I lost this," he pointed to his eye. "So I never did find out if she felt the same or not, and I regret it every single day."   
  
Gravos then took out a small leather pouch from one of his pockets. He stared at it for a moment, holding it in his giant claws, then handed it to Val. Val stared at Gravos for a minute, and then untied the pouch to see what its contents were. His eyes widened slightly as he gently took out a small gold bracelet. It was a simple woven band that had two hearts merging into one and it glittered brightly in the light of the fire. Val looked up at Gravos his face questioning.   
  
Gravos gave a tired smile. "When we rescue Filia, and we will rescue her, I want you to give that to her and tell her how you feel. Don't be a fool like I was Val; don't be afraid to tell the woman you love how you feel. You'll end up regretting it forever."   
  
Val stood up carefully pocketing the bracelet after he put it back into its pouch. His face had a new look of firm resolve.   
"I will Gravos… and thank you!"   
  
  
To be continued...  
  
  
  
A/N: Well did you guys like or not like? I always thought Gravos needed more attention someway or somehow. I want to thank all the lovely reviewers out there who are so kind with their comments. I'm glad you guys like this and are patient enough to wait till I get around to posting more chapters. I apologize to all the Xellos lovers out there but I'm glad you like how I portray him. I always thought when it came to Xellos and relationships he would never be serious about them and most likely use the girl(or guy ^_^) as his plaything. Word of caution though, Xellos will become even worse as the chapters go by. Also thanks for some of the ideas that you've been giving me. I really appreciate the help. Please r&r!! 


	15. Brief Interlude Part 2

-Chapter 14-  
  
Flittering shadows played across the face of the weary maiden while she woke from a deep slumber. It had been a few days since she'd been brought captive to Wolf Pack Island. Xellos had not come to see her since that one time and she cursed his name a thousand times for treating her this way. It wasn't enough that he had the gall to mock her but he didn't give her clothes either. She looked back and remembered how he transported himself out of the cell only to return a few minutes later with a scrap of material that he called a blanket. He tossed it to her, and when she opened her mouth to complain he turned from her to leave, not before telling her that she was lucky to receive even that. Her face scrunched in a scowl at the memory.  
  
So here she still was, in her dungeon cell with only a torn and weathered blanket wrapped around her to keep warm. Not to mention decent. She made a sound of displeasure in the back of her throat. The blanket's material was course and each time she wrapped it tighter to keep the cold out, the rough material scraped her delicate skin, leaving it red and irritated. Still she needed some protection, being in the dank dampness of the cell for so long was starting to take its toll on her already exhausted body. She was still in a bad condition from her fall and this atmosphere wasn't helping her to get any better. A cold was beginning to make its presence known and that was the last thing she needed at this point.   
  
She let out a sneeze and began to shiver. At this rate she would never be able to recover enough of her powers to heal herself.  
  
That wasn't all of her worries though as her stomach let out a protest of its own. She couldn't even remember the last time she ate. Of course she wasn't denied food that is if you could call what they gave her actual food. Filia looked over towards the door to the cell and sure enough it was there. Every day when she woke up it would be sitting there waiting for her to consume it, but she wasn't sure if it was edible or not. It was a stew of some kind, murky green in color, with some type of white substance floating in it. She didn't know what it was and couldn't ask whoever brought it for they always came while she was asleep and left it. At first Filia refused to eat the foul-smelling concoction, for thoughts of evil mazoku poisoning defenseless dragons for their own amusement ran through her mind, and she sure enough wouldn't eat it if it were Xellos who made it. But even dragons need to eat at some point or another and soon hunger won its war with Filia. When the desire for food became too unbearable she greedily ate it, although it tasted as worse as it looked. She felt the need to throw up but tried to keep it all down so her body could get what little nutrients, if any, it provided. A little of her strength returned but she was still too weak for any attempts of escape.   
  
She sighed and stared at the ceiling and wondered how long it would be before she went mad. One time when she went into town for supplies she overheard people talking about how there was a recent cave in and someone was trapped in there for days, only when they were freed everyone found out that the person went insane from being without human contact for so long. Filia couldn't help but wonder if that was going to happen to her as well.   
  
She curled up on the stack of hay that had now become her bed with the retched blanket lying on top of her. She gave a sigh and was amazed at how loud it seemed. She still wasn't used to how the silence of the cell amplified every noise she made. She moved about restlessly for a minute and ended up on her back and absentmindedly twirled a few strands of her hair, a bad habit she had when she was a child. Apparently she wasn't going to fall asleep this time and was a bit miffed at that because sleep had become the only way to pass her time.   
  
While she was awake her thoughts ran free and they always ended up to her jumping to conclusions. She was starting to believe that Val would never come for her; perhaps he didn't even know she was gone to begin with. Tears stung Filia's eyes as she thought of Val and how happy he was now that he was free of her. He might come back if only to retrieve his things but he probably wouldn't even bother to check up on her. Thoughts like those were causing Filia to gradually fall into a deep state of depression. Sleep was only a temporary escape but even sleep had become a way to torment her. It would always be a deep slumber but not a peaceful one. As she started to fall asleep her dreams began. In her dreams Filia saw overwhelming visions of despair and chaos, but most of all death. Images such as the Golden massacre and even the Ancient genocide plagued her. She wasn't there when both events happened but she heard enough stories to visualize them. Flames erupted around each of her visions in a blinding heat, the screams, the blood; it was all too much. Then she would see the events that revolved around Dark Star, the prophecy, Xellos torturing Valgarv, Valgarv forcing her to summon Dark Star, the deaths of the Golden dragons and the Supreme Elder. But the one thing she kept seeing over and over again was what haunted her even then, a young Valgarv sitting in the snow, crying as the dead bodies of his family surrounded him. She would then wake up, clutching at her heart, with beads of sweat sliding down the side of her face as she stared at the ceiling from where she laid.   
  
She tried not to but failed to keep her wails of despair inside any longer. 'Ceipheed be kind, kill me now.' She thought as she cried.  
  
Her sobs were interrupted as the door to her cell opened.  
  
  
-Elsewhere-  
  
  
Cold moonlight washed over his body as he watched the last of the fire's embers die out. He wasn't really looking at the fire, mainly staring in its direction, so he did not pay it any mind. After a few more moments of staring off into space, Val shook his head to clear himself of his thoughts. They were still nowhere close to Wolf Pack Island but lately Val started to have this overwhelming feeling that something was coming. Each day as they pressed on the feeling became more intense. A sigh escaped his parted lips. Yes, something was coming and it felt that it had to do with his past. He felt himself become weary at the thought of it. What Val didn't know was that something wasn't coming; he was going to it.  
  
Before the next morning's light, they started to press on once again. The trees were becoming more dense and thick as they got off the main roads. Jillas stumbled once or twice from the uneven ground, but Gravos was there to help him straighten himself out before he fell. After what seemed to be hours, they suddenly came out from the shadows of the trees and before them now lay a range of treacherous mountains. The trio strained their eyes at the growing mountains as they went closer. Val felt something unusual about these mountains. Something lay hidden in them.   
  
As they got to the base Jillas looked up at the mountains, his eyes shiny with the joy of recognition. "Boss am I seeing things?"   
Gravos had the same wonder in his eyes. "If you are then so am I Jillas."   
  
Val looked at them perplexed. "What are you talking about?" he asked.  
  
Both of them turned to look at him, their faces nostalgic. "This was once our home Master Val, yours too."   
  
Val looked at them in disbelief. "How? I've never been here in my li…" he trailed off as realization came to him. Yes he had never been here, in this life at least. He looked at the mountains now with the same wonder. "This was home?" he asked more to himself than to the two beside him.   
  
Gravos placed a clawed hand on his shoulder. "Yes it was, a long time ago. This is home or what's left of it anyway."  
  
Finally Val had found a link to his past. Perhaps here he could find some of the answers he was seeking.   
  
"Well come on let's go take a look." Val said. Gravos and Jillas were more than happy to agree.  
  
  
-Back at Wolf Pack Island-  
  
  
Filia turned towards the door, shielding her eyes from the pouring light that she was now unused to. A person's silhouette that was in the doorway, now crept toward her. On instinct Filia moved away as they came closer. Unbeknownst to her she was clenching and unclenching the blanket in apprehension. The figure was now in front of her crouching down to be eye level with her. She looked up at her visitor's face and gasped as she recognized whom it was.  
  
"Ailah!" she shouted. The surprise she felt was almost enough to make her heart stop. Her mind filled with fear. Here she was vulnerable and weak and now alone with someone who almost killed her. This was unsuspected and she was uncertain of what to do. In her state she could not fight Ailah but Ailah herself didn't seemed to be bothered in the slightest. She just merely watched Filia as she searching for a way out of her predicament.   
  
Slowly, Ailah lifted her hand to gently touch Filia's tangled dirty hair. She twirled it around her fingers studying the color and texture of it. Filia instantly became uncomfortable but she sensed there was no ill intent. What she wasn't expecting however was when Ailah threw herself into Filia's arms. The force from it almost flung Filia backwards. Filia shook off her initial shock to look down at the young girl who was now holding her like a child would hold their mother. Filia blushed as Ailah nuzzled her neck, but she was quickly shoved away.   
  
Ailah sat upright with a hurt look on her face, tears slowly formed in her eyes. Filia wondered why the sudden affection and emotion was present in the girl.   
  
A noise came from the door and Filia was broken from her thoughts to see Xellos in the doorway. She scowled at him but then looked at Ailah in puzzlement as the girl threw herself in Xellos's arms the same she did with Filia. This was even more perplexing but she did assume that Xellos took her as a lover. What was bothering her was the open display of emotions she possessed. Mazoku did not do such things right? But Filia remembered that she not a mazoku, so what was she? Filia didn't realize she asked the question aloud.   
  
Xellos gave one of his trademark smiles. "I'd be delighted to tell you Miss Filia."  
  
  
To be continued…  
  
  
  
A/N: Gomen for being late with this chapter, it was supposed to be out a couple weeks ago but I've been on vacation visiting family so I haven't had the time to update or write. I promise this will be the last of the "filler" chapters. Lots of things are going to happen next chapter. Such as, you'll finally find out the truth about Ailah. At long last huh? I hope her story won't be confusing. I already gave a hint from the way she acted around Filia just now, if anyone would like to guess. Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers, I'm glad you put up with my procrastination. Lina Inverse the Dramata, my friend, do not fear. I shall finish this fic! To answer your questions, yes eventually, most likely sooner than later, Val will meet up with Lina and they'll team up together to fight Xellos, but he's actually going to rediscover his powers in the next chapter. I had a hard time trying to think of a way for it to happen so I hope it'll be believable. Thank you to AMC for sticking up for me! Oh yes, Destined Dragons is still alive but people should submit things if I'm to update as much as I have. Just a suggestion though. ^_^ 


	16. Truths Revealed Part 2

-Chapter 16-  
  
The trio of friends walked their way down the narrow path surrounding the tall craggy peaks searching for a way inside. They noticed that the area around the red-stained rocks had become barren without greenery or water. It did not bother either Gravos or Jillas that there were no signs of life, but Val on the other hand thought that it wasn't right to not see a bird flying in the sky.   
  
As they circled their way around they came upon a deep and narrow entryway. Leading the way, Gravos and Jillas went inside between the red stones, Val trailing behind. Gravos picked up a solitary tree branch and, after wrapping the top with some spare cloths, lit it with a match to create a torch. The underground caves were empty and silent; Val could not imagine that this was once his home. He remembered that on their journey, Gravos and Jillas told him when he was a mazoku-hybrid, he saved their lives from certain death and ever since then they were his loyal servants. Val didn't like the idea that he once thought of his best friends as nothing more than servants but from what they said he was not a cruel master.   
  
When he first realized that they too, were involved in hiding his identity he felt betrayed all over again. When he started to lash out at them he remembered Filia's face and said nothing more; for now he learned the hurt words could cause. It took a while but Val learned to forgive them. The two beast men apologized for hiding the truth from him but they thought that Filia was right to leave him in the dark. It made sense to Val; after all they loved Filia as well and would do as she said, especially if it were in his best interest. As they traveled in the darkness of the caves, Val asked them to tell him about himself, but what they could tell him he already knew. They both had sad expressions on their faces; they felt as if they failed Val. They told him what they could but they did not know much for their master used to close off his thoughts to them. They could not tell him of Garv either, for when they came under Val's service the mazoku lord was already dead.  
  
While Val took all of this in, they made a turn at a sharp bend and began to walk down a vast corridor that lead to an arched doorway. High vaults lined up either side of the passageway, with dark shadows in their inner depths. When they reached the door, Jillas tried to open it but was not strong enough, for the door had sealed tightly shut after years of not being used. Only Gravos, with his mighty strength could open the door. Jillas and Val covered their ears from the loud screech the door made as it slowly opened. Val's eyes widened as he looked upon the inner chamber.  
  
This cavern, made in the hollow rock of the mountain, was indeed immeasurable but there was an uncanny sense of loneliness drifting in the air. It seemed there were no other openings or tunnels that led to other levels in the caves but there were sharp rocks that wound steadily upwards to the ceiling like they were guards. As Gravos entered, the light from the torch scared the massive shadows away and Val saw above his head more of the stone pillars on the roof of the cave. They seemed to threaten to fall if an unfortunate enemy should happen to enter. The air itself was warm and musty, were before as they walked in the darkness it was cold to feel on their faces.   
  
Val walked in following Gravos and Jillas, his feet kicking up several layers of dust off what used to be a smoothly polished stone floor. In the middle of the floor was an engraving of a pentagon. In each of its corners, four spheres radiated blue light, which made a dark sheen appear on the walls. Val's eyes however, caught sight of the throne made out of solid black stone in the center of the far end of the cave. It sat upon a large dais and seemed to be six feet in height. It looked that it was made for someone of great stature with its massive armrests; the seat itself was big enough for two people.   
  
He made his way towards the throne but tripped on one of the crevices that were formed in the ground. Val fell with a loud thump that echoed throughout the cavern. The contents of his travel pack spilled on the floor and he scrambled to retrieve everything. A flash of pale jade caught his eye and he stood to go get it while Gravos and Jillas recovered everything else.   
  
Val staggered quickly to the lost object not wishing to lose it. It was a small orb made of jade, a gift given to him by Filia when he was still a child. She had given it to him as an early coming of age present saying that he should have it now instead of later. It had become very dear to him, but not because Filia gave it to him, for some unexplainable reason Val felt complete whenever he touched it. He was unsure as to why that was though when he finally spotted the small orb resting against one of the throne's legs. As Val neared it, soft voices began to whisper in his ears causing him to freeze. He struggled to make out what the voices were saying but it was no use, they were too muffled. The voices continued to whisper around him and Val felt the palms of his hands grow cold and clammy; his brow began to dampen. He struggled to clear his mind to listen more closely to the voices but a deep silence fell.   
  
The voices had stopped but as Val went towards the orb they came back again like a breath against the skin on the back of his neck. They were ghostly and unnatural, but had a sense of forlornness embedded in them. It made Val feel empty and sad as well. Val turned to look to see if Gravos or Jillas could hear the voices as well, but the two beast men were busy looking at a map to plot their next destination. The voices drew him back and he once again tried to make out any sort of words, but it seemed that there weren't any actual words, more like feelings. He could make out certain feelings, some standing out more than the others. There was despair, sadness, hopelessness, anger, betrayal, but most of all, hatred. The voices were starting to grow louder and louder with their emotions and Val felt like they were his own. His heart ached as the feelings began to have their toll on him and he covered his ears to silence them. All of the torment the voices carried threatened to consume him, and for some reason, Val thought that if he had the orb in his grasp he would be safe. The desire to have the orb became stronger as the voices grew louder. Without hesitation, Val plucked the orb from the ground holding it to his chest desperately.   
  
It was then that everything changed around him. The blackness of the walls appeared to melt right off, swirling and forming till nothing but a black abyss surrounded him. Val looked behind him to Gravos and Jillas but they were still in the same positions he saw before. He called to them but there was no answer to be heard, the two had been frozen in time. Sudden warmth was felt on his chest and Val was surprised to find the orb glowing a bright, almost pure white, light. The orb released itself from Val's grasp to float in the air; the great light coming from it illuminated the blackness.   
  
Suddenly, there before him, stood three elderly men clad in white robes. Their features were hard but something about their eyes held a profound sense of memory. Something about them… was familiar.  
  
"You who are the last of the Ancient blood!"  
  
Val looked at the apparitions in fear. The moment he grabbed the orb the voices had stopped along with the pain in his heart, he believed to have been rid of them, but now here were the same voices again. Val started to doubt his sanity.  
  
"You have no need to doubt us young Ancient. We are not figments of imagination. We are as real as you." Again the voices spoke, but he could not tell if they were coming from the apparitions in front of him for their mouths did not move. The figures held steady gazes at him and Val felt uneasy at the weight of the stare.  
  
"Wha… what do you want with me?" he asked with apprehension evident in his voice. The answer came to him again in the form of voices in his mind.   
  
"We are not here to give you commands, young Ancient. Our purpose is to tell you what you desire most. Your past."   
  
Val blinked in disbelief. "You… you could do that?" he asked.  
  
"Aye that we can. Then there will be no more need for you to retrieve the Golden dragon."  
  
Val stood there in shock. "What are you saying?"  
  
The three figures held their gazes on Val and spoke once again in his mind. "Is it not the sole reason for your quest, to find the Golden dragon to learn of the past? Your past!"  
  
Val hesitated at the question. Had that not been why he went back to the cottage? Had that not been the reason he set off to find her, to learn the answers to solve the mystery that was his past? Well… it was part of it at least. Val had a feeling that these beings in front of him could tell if he were lying or not so he decided to tell the truth. "No." he said.  
  
"And why is that?" they asked.  
  
"Because, I have fallen in love with her." Val realized that was the first time he said it aloud. He gave a small smile as he looked at the ground.  
  
An uncomfortable silence followed for the apparitions did not answer. After minutes of the prolonged stillness Val looked back to them and bit his lip nervously. Had he said something to offend them? They finally spoke again.  
  
"We must say that this was unexpected. For we would never imagine that one of the Ancient race could develop feelings for a murderer."  
  
"How can you say such a thing?" cried Val in an outraged voice. "Because it is the truth!" they answered.  
  
"No I will not believe it! Filia is not a murderer, she would never take anyone's life." Val said.  
  
"Her being a Golden dragon alone is enough to convict her." They said in monotone voices. Val frowned deeply. "That is not true, she was not even born when it happened! How could you put the blame on her when she had no part in it?" he asked.  
  
"One time, you thought no differently than we do. It does not matter if she was not alive then, the blood of those who murdered us flows through her veins. The instinct to kill is within her, she just does not know it."  
  
"You say 'us'! Are you Ancient dragons as well?" Val asked, trying to ignore the terrible things they said about Filia.  
  
"Yes. At one time we were the supreme elders of the Ancient dragon race. When the Golden dragons slaughtered our race, we used the last of our power to transport our spirits into the small tome you had just held. We did it so that the memory of the Ancient dragons would not be a tarnished with deceit and betrayal. So that one day the world will know the truth."  
  
Val looked on as they continued. "As the generations passed we collected all the memories of our race, including yours. Though the tome was not with you in the physical sense, it still connected with you and has the ability to show all that was once lost to you. If it is your wish, the tome will show you all that you want to know. Do you wish to know, young Ancient?"  
  
Val stared into ageless eyes and nodded.   
  
"Very well then. Pick up the tome and all shall be revealed."  
  
Val fought to keep his nervousness down, this is what could genuinely be called his greatest desire and also greatest fear. He walked towards the tome; his heart grew heavy with each step. He bent over and gently scooped up the tome in his grasp. The warmth flood to his body once again, but suddenly everything grew hot and a bright flash of light enveloped Val. In an instant, he vanished.  
  
-Wolf Pack Island-  
  
They remained in deafening silence and Filia thought she would scream lest Xellos explained what Ailah was. 'Why does he like to keep people waiting so much?' she thought.  
  
"I wonder Miss Filia, do you remember your mother?" She blanked at the question. What did her mother have to do with anything? Before she could ask, he continued.  
  
"It's a shame you know, when a child has no memory of their mother. They go on their entire lives thinking that since mother was not around, they were unwanted. Some of the people who commit the most heinous of crimes were without a mother. It's amazing what one succumbs to just because they did not have a mother's care."   
  
Even as he spoke, Filia was utterly confused. Xellos slowly approached her and knelt next to her. Ailah crawled over to him and wrapped her arms, snuggling him the same way she did with Filia. Xellos patted the girl's head and smiled. "But it's not so bad when a child has their daddy! Isn't that right Ailah?"  
  
The girl meekly nodded but there was a tiny hint of fear in her eyes.   
  
"So what are you trying to say? That Ailah is your daughter? That is not something uncommonly known. Mazoku usually call the servants they create from themselves children, as if it were a means to suffice the inability to have children the way dragons and humans do."   
  
"Yes that is true, but Ailah is not just my daughter, she's yours as well."   
  
Silence.  
  
For a few moments, nothing registered in Filia's mind. He said in such a simple way, like he was pointing out the color of her hair, although the implication behind his words was startling.  
  
"Y… you… you're joking right?" she asked in disbelief.  
  
"I'm afraid I'm not. Terribly sorry for that." His face begged to differ.  
  
"But… but that's impossible! In order for us to have a child we would have…" Filia's face paled at the unmentionable thought. "I would never…!"  
  
Xellos cut her off. "As much as I would love to have you think in a rather suggestive manner," he paused to give her a wink. "I'm afraid you are mistaken."   
  
Filia gave a low growl. "Well how else would we? Not that I believe you when you say that she is ours mind you."  
  
"I knew you would not believe me in the slightest. But it is the truth." He said in a fierce tone.  
  
"Then tell me how Xellos! How is she our child!?" Filia demanded.  
  
"It is quite extraordinary really. You remember our final battle with Dark Star correct?" he asked.  
  
"Of course you idiotic namagomi! How could I forget something like that?" she said becoming irritated.  
  
"Miss Filia, if you insist on being so rude then I shan't tell you of how our daughter came to be." Xellos opened his eyes to look at her. "Now will you be cooperative and let me finish?"   
  
"Only if you stop calling her our daughter!" she shot back at him.  
  
Xellos pretended not to have heard her and continued. "As you are well aware of, Miss Lina asked of us to combine both our powers to increase the power of Lina's spell."  
  
Filia nodded and waited for him to continue.  
  
"The union worked as it defeated Dark Star but also in another way. The fusion of our powers, along with Lina and Dark Star's, combined the moment they all clashed together, causing nothingness into creation, like I said then. Only I had no idea at the time that the creation would be Ailah herself. That union, a small beacon of light that only I noticed, formed her. You and the others were busy discovering Valgarv's reborn form at the time. After everyone departed home, I stayed for but a minute to find the light to discover what it was. The small light shaped and molded itself into the form of a small baby when I finally came upon it. I sensed my mazoku power along with your own dragon power that was held within her. So I brought her back with me to Wolf Pack Island and raised her as my own. Like you have with Valgarv."  
  
Filia was silent for a while as she tried to absorb all this new information all at once. She looked towards Ailah, who was staring at the Golden dragon intently. It was then, now that Filia knew what she was trying to sense, that Xellos had to be speaking the truth. Filia could feel the haunting familiarity of a dragon in the girl, along with the despicable presence of mazoku.   
  
"But then… why would she attack me? I… I… don't understand." She stuttered.  
  
"Because I told her to. Surely you wouldn't let that escape you." Xellos said as her stroke Ailah's hair.   
  
"Why would you do that?" she asked horrified.  
  
"For the simple reason of destroying your life, my dear dragon. I filled Ailah's mind with lies and thoughts, I told her that you were the reason she no longer had a mother. Being the simple-minded girl she is, she believed everything I told her. But it was hard to convince her to harm you." Xellos said.  
  
"What do you mean convince her?" Filia asked fearing the worst.   
  
"Well her being half dragon, a Golden dragon at that, made her well… defiant towards me. But I made certain that she would never defy me ever again. Isn't that right, my precious?" Xellos asked with fake warmth in his voice.  
  
Ailah's eyes were filled with fear as she looked at Xellos, but she gave an obedient nod.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Filia asked in a soft fear-filled voice.  
  
"Well, I did what any mazoku would do when their child back talks to them. I cut out her tongue." Xellos said with a genki smile.  
  
To be continued…  
  
A/N: Well what did you guys think? Was Ailah's origin confusing? I knew what I wanted to say but did not know how to write it in words. So lemme know what you think or what you thought was going on with her. Hoped you guys like it, I'll try to have the next chapter out soon, but knowing me and updating who knows when that will be. XD But I love you guys for being so patient with me. So leave any thoughts, comment, or ideas that you want to share with me.  
  
-To my loyal fans, readers, and fellow writers,  
  
First of all, let me say how deeply sorry I am for the lack in updating Forbidden Love and my other V/F fanfiction that has been promised. Boy what is with these overdue updates and me huh? Well, due to RL circumstances over the past summer, I was unable to update any of my fanfiction. And when my muse -finally- got inspired... my hard drive was ate up by the recent worm on AOL, meaning that I lost my latest chapter of FL and all my other writings that I was working on. ;_; Now do not fret, I shall update when possible as soon as my life gets back on track, but until then please be patient.   
  
On another note concerning FL, I may not be updating it anymore on fanfiction.net. The reason being is their policy on material for ratings R+. In the chapters that I have planned, FL is going to take on a darker path than it is already and the situations, plus a planned lemon scene, are not suitable for this archive anymore. Now before I have anyone say, to heck with that, post the lemon on here anyway, sorry folks but I agree with Xing's decision on the lemons and I refuse to break the rules. I do not want to be part of the cause that -all- fics rated R, be they lemon-scented or not, are taken off ff.net permanently. Perhaps if it is possible, I will post an edited version on ff.net after I complete my uncut version which will be posted on such sites as adultfanfiction.net, and mediaminer.org, plus my own website.  
  
On a side note, since I've had e-mails asking me, Destined Dragons is not dead! It is however, experiencing a brief downtime. DD's host, mazoku.org, recently reached its expiration date, but the owners are slowly in the process of renewing it, and bringing back all the Slayers goodness online. So expect it online in a short amount of time. I apologize for any inconvenience.  
  
Thank you for your patience, and be on the lookout for my next update,  
  
Tara-hime 


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